


Fools Rush In

by CarolPeletier



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Long-Distance Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:15:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26329252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarolPeletier/pseuds/CarolPeletier
Summary: After a rough breakup, Carol Mason is not looking for love.  She's content to throw herself into her studies until her roommate convinces her to come out and have a little fun.  When Carol meets Daryl Dixon, everything changes.  He's funny and sweet, and one thing leads to another.  But there's just one problem.  Distance.  Daryl lives in Georgia.  Carol lives in California.  They're crazy about each other, but the distance gets in the way until life happens and they must come together to figure out how to make it work.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 49





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Walking Dead. All characters belong to the creators of the television show and graphic novels.

Fools Rush In

Chapter 1

_October 30, 2020_

“Carol Mason, if you don’t get your mopey behind out of that bed, put on something gorgeous and come out with me tonight, I’m going to have no choice but to call your parents and tell them you don’t _really_ have to study for Thanksgiving and that of _course_ you’ll be there.”

“That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Carol groaned, throwing a pillow at her roommate, Michonne Hawthorne. Michonne yelped as the pillow hit her in the back, but her steady hand kept her from smudging her eyeliner. 

“It’s been _two_ months since that piece of shit dumped you.”

“He didn’t dump me,” Carol snapped. “He _cheated_ on me, and I dumped _him_.” Carol sat up in bed. “It’s ten o’clock. I’ve got a test to study for.”

“It’s Friday night, Carol. Tomorrow’s Halloween. It’s a bon-fire. On a beach. I’m giving you some _very_ good reasons to go, here. It’s been a long time since we’ve gone out and done anything fun. I already told Rick I’d get you to come, and he’s _really_ excited to introduce you to his friend.”

“There it is,” Carol sighed. “Another desperate attempt to hook me up with some random guy. I already told you, Michonne. I’m _not_ interested in a relationship right now.”

“Ed Peletier isn’t worth missing out on the best times of your life. You might have dumped him, but you haven’t moved on.” Carol sighed heavily but said nothing. Michonne had a point. 

Perhaps it was her sheltered, over-protective upbringing, but she’d imagined dating Ed all through college, getting engaged and then getting married after graduation. It just seemed like the kinds of things she’d heard about growing up from the people in her parents’ church. She remembered her father standing at the pulpit every Sunday, congratulating the newlyweds or the newly engaged people in his congregation.

Her parents had expected her to go to a community college close to home, but when she’d found out about Woodbury State’s amazing creative writing department out in Los Angeles, she had talked with her parents, plead her case and explained how there were so many opportunities out there. Of course, they’d had none of it, at first, until Carol had received her acceptance letter from the university. When they’d seen how happy it made her, they finally gave in and agreed that it was _her_ education and future, and she had to be the one to make that decision for herself.

For the first time in her life, she’d gotten on a plane and flown from northern Michigan to southern California, and it was the biggest eye-opening experience she’d ever had. She was terrified and excited, traveling all that way alone. Her mother had insisted on coming along, but Carol had pushed back on that, explaining that she was eighteen and had to learn how to take care of herself. It was her first step into true independence, and while she could see the heartbreak in her mother’s eyes, it was decided that she would go alone but call frequently. Carol wasn’t stubborn enough to not call for help, and she had had to call home and ask a few questions, but once she actually arrived on campus, things seemed to fall into place pretty quickly.

The first week of classes, she literally ran right into a walking wall of a man. Ed Peletier had been tall with a striking, chiseled face. He was a bit on the husky side, but he was strong and just about knocked her right on her ass. He’d apologized, helped her to her feet and looked at her in a way that made her blush. He told her he couldn’t stay, because he was on his way to football practice, but he asked for her number, and that rush of excitement and anxiety was overpowering. They’d quickly exchanged numbers, and while she hadn’t expected to hear back from him, it was the first time she’d ever felt that rush of butterflies in her stomach.

She hadn’t dated in school. Her parents had practically forbidden it. It had taken almost a month of begging to go to prom when a sweet guy from her English class had asked her to prom. Her father had insisted on driving them to the venue and picking them up by eleven o’clock. It hadn’t stopped them from sneaking out to the gondola by the duck pond and making out for almost an hour before some drunk classmates had spotted them. It had started out as her first kiss, then her first make-out session, and it had stirred up all kinds of feelings she wasn’t sure what to do with, mainly in her lower belly and down between her legs. It had been exciting and new, and it was over before it could go too far. 

She’d spent the next week walking on eggshells at home, terrified that every time her parents looked at her, they’d reveal they knew the sordid details of what really went down with her prom date.

Ed had been her first. It hadn’t been romantic, looking back, but on the night of their third date, they’d gone all the way, and he’d promised her everything. She’d been naïve enough to believe him.

When the school year ended, she’d gone back home to Michigan, he’d stayed in Los Angeles, and he’d made exactly one trip to Michigan halfway through the summer to meet her parents. He was charming, and Carol had been so pleased that her parents got along with him so well. But, Ed had made a pretty convincing show of not even _touching_ her while he was there aside from the night before he had to fly back, when he’d snuck across the hall and into her bed, promising her they’d be quick and quiet but that he _had_ to be with her, because it’d been so long. 

She’d waited until he was on the plane to cry over him. The idea of waiting another month to see him again felt unbearable.

The plan had been to move into a small apartment just off campus with her dormmate from the previous year. She and Michonne had hit it off and become great friends, and since they were no longer freshmen, they were able to get an apartment of their own, per the university’s rules on housing. Naturally, the first thing she’d done after meeting Michonne to see the apartment had been to hurry off to Ed’s place to surprise him. 

Only, it was her that was in for the surprise. She’d used her key to get in, only to find him in bed with a new freshman who looked at him with the same doe-eyes Carol had after their first month of dating. Ed had scrambled out of bed and chased Carol down the hall, explaining that he’d met Felicity two months ago, and he’d fallen in love with her. She hadn’t even made the connection at first that he’d met Felicity _before_ his trip to Michigan, and that crushing blow hit her with full force three hours later when she was curled up sobbing on her bed while Michonne did anything and everything to try to calm her down.

And that low moment in her life was exactly what got Carol out of bed. She stood up slowly and ran her fingers through the mess of dark auburn curls, and she looked at Michonne.

“He’s not worth it,” Carol agreed. “But I’m _not_ ready for another relationship, so if this is your way of trying to hook me up with somebody, I don’t want any part of it.” Michonne turned in her seat and looked at her.

“I’m not trying to do anything. You’re my friend, and I love you, and I want you to be happy. But _you_ have to find your happiness. Still, there’s nothing wrong with meeting Rick’s friend, is there? At the very least, you could end up with a new friend. Besides, he’s flying back to Atlanta tomorrow. He runs a garage with his older brother. Think of it as a no-strings meeting. You meet, you talk, you laugh. Tomorrow, he’s on a plane, and you can go back to studying for your tests and pretending that life doesn’t exist outside of our apartment.”

“You’re an asshole,” Carol snorted. Michonne batted her eyelashes and grinned.

“I know. Is it working?”

“It’s working,” Carol sighed. She made her way over to her closet and started looking through her clothes. She glanced over her shoulder at Michonne who was still seated at Carol’s desk doing her makeup. “What are you wearing?”

“This.” Michonne shrugged. She was wearing a pair of cut off jean shorts and a purple t-shirt. Her braided hair was tied back, and she made casual look flawless. Carol looked down at her donut-print pajama shorts and groaned. She hadn’t gotten dressed up in ages, and the idea of doing it all to go out to a beach and stand in front of a scorching bonfire with Michonne, Rick and some guy she never met just didn’t sound like it was worth the effort. Still, she found her favorite tank top and a pair of capri jeans, and she held them up.

“How about this?” she asked, holding it up. Michonne glanced at her in the mirror and gave her a nod.

“It’s a good color on you.” She glanced at the clock. “Better hurry. They’re picking us up in fifteen.”

*~*~*~*~*

Fifteen minutes, one quick shower and the fastest makeup application ever, and Carol was standing awkwardly in front of the apartment building with Michonne, sweating despite the fact that it was October and there was a chill in the air. 

“I thought you said fifteen minutes.”

“It’s L.A. They probably got stuck in traffic.” Michonne had so much faith in Rick. They’d started dating shortly after Carol and Ed had, and they were still going strong. Rick was a good guy, and Carol enjoyed hanging out with him and with Michonne, but she often ended up by herself on purpose, because she hated playing the third wheel once Ed was out of the picture. 

Rick was from Georgia and had traveled about as far as Carol had to come to Los Angeles for school. He was studying criminal justice, because his parents wanted him to have a college education. His dream, however, was to be a police officer, and just as soon as he was out of school, he planned on becoming just that. Carol had never met somebody so sure of what they wanted to do with their lives. Hell, up until college started, she’d wanted to write children’s books. Now that her college courses had opened up resources and tools for her, she’d started writing short stories and submitting them to journals at every possible juncture. She had decided on studying writing, both creative and business writing so, at the very least, if she couldn’t get published, she would still be able to make a career out of her skills. 

Michonne was also on the criminal justice track, though her focus was more on the social work side of it all. She was adamant that she wanted to make a difference. 

Carol always felt a little out of place when Michonne and Rick would talk about their future. They knew so clearly what they wanted to do with their lives, and Carol was just discovering the things she wanted to do and to be. She supposed growing up sheltered and spending most of her weekends sitting in her father’s church had something to do with that. The world was a big, open place with a multitude of possibilities, and the endless paths she had at her feet were staggering. 

“So about this friend of Rick’s?” Carol began, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the sidewalk. 

“Daryl? What about him?”

“You said he’s going back to Georgia?”

“Yeah. I don’t know a lot about him, except for what Rick told me. See, they were good friends in high school. Daryl and his older brother were raised by their uncle. He ran a garage somewhere outside of Atlanta. When he died, he passed it onto Daryl and his brother Merle.”

“So he’s our age?”

“Yeah, just about,” Michonne said with a little nod. “He’s taking classes down in Atlanta, and he’s helping run the garage. He’s just been up visiting for a few days. Rick says he’s kind of quiet. A little shy, but super nice.”

“Yeah,” Carol snorted snidely. “Aren’t they all at first?”

“Not every guy you meet’s another Ed. Trust me. Rick’s a good one. And he says Daryl’s a good guy, so I’m inclined to believe him.” Carol just gave a little shrug, and Michonne sighed dramatically. “One of these days you’ll know I’m right.” The flash of headlights coming around the corner caught her eye. “They’re here. Now remember, this isn’t a date. This is just you getting out of the house, enjoying yourself and maybe making a new friend. Is that too much to ask?”

“Way too much,” Carol grinned. Michonne nudged her shoulder. “I have to admit, I do feel a little better already.”

“See? This is gonna be fun.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Carol slid into the back seat of Rick’s roomy four-door piece of junk, she offered him a smile and a nod before Michonne kissed him like they didn’t have company in the back seat. Carol averted her eyes when she heard a little snort from beside her. Her eyes locked on the prettiest eyes she’d ever seen a man possess, and she was pretty sure her jaw dropped just a little. His cheeks were flushed, and the little shy grin on his lips was probably the cutest damned thing Carol had seen in a long time. His jaw clenched, and he shifted in his seat, and she could tell by the way his shirt clung to his chest and upper arms that he was solid and well-muscled. His hair was a sandy brown, and she couldn’t help but stare at the little mole above his lip. 

“Hey. You must be Carol.”

“Yeah. Um, that must make you Daryl.” She shut the door and slipped her seatbelt on. 

“Nice to meet ya.” 

“You too,” she smiled, watching the way his fingers twitched on the seat between them. Rick eased the car back out on the street, and Carol tapped her fingers anxiously against her knee. 

“You grow up around here like Michonne?” Daryl asked. Carol glanced over at him, and a whiff of his cologne hit her like a tidal wave. He smelled so damned good, and she felt like her head was spinning. The swallowed hard and mentally berated herself for wondering what those calloused fingers of his might feel like against her skin. She wiped the sweat from her brow and shook her head tightly.

“No. No, I’m from Northern Michigan.”

“Yeah? I been to Michigan a time or two with my uncle. Upper or lower part?”

“Upper?”

“Yeah, I used to love all the lighthouses when I was a kid.” Carol smiled, relaxing a little and leaning back in her seat.

“My grandmother collected lighthouses. Figurines, pictures, everything. I always used to tease her, because we had a big, beautiful lighthouse down the road she could see all the time. I always wondered why she didn’t collect things like cactuses or something we don’t normally see around home.” Michonne pulled down the sun shade above her window and used the lighted mirror to check her makeup. She caught Carol’s eye in the mirror and gave her a wink of encouragement. “So you’re from Georgia?”

“Born and raised,” Daryl said with a little nod. “Spent the best years of my life ‘causin’ trouble with Rick here, and now he’s gonna go and try to be a cop.” 

“Yeah, so I can arrest delinquents like your dumb ass,” Rick laughed. Daryl snorted and hit the back of Rick’s seat with his knee. 

“Well, I know Rick, so I’m gonna guess he was probably the instigator of some of that trouble, right?” Carol asked, getting a laugh from Michonne.

“Hell yeah,” Daryl chuckled. “He’s the one who talked me into most of it.”

“Don’t let this asshole lie to you. He was a bad influence on me,” Rick insisted with a teasing grin over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the road.

“Now, _that_ I have a hard time believing,” Carol laughed. 

Carol and Michonne only lived a few miles from the beach, but the drive seemed faster than usual. Maybe it was because Carol actually felt comfortable in a group for the first time in a while. Maybe it was because, for the first time in a long time, she actually felt a spark of attraction for someone. And on top of that, he seemed nice enough. Of course, five minutes of small talk in the back of a car wasn’t much to go on, but he had kind eyes. They were soul-piercing, and Carol couldn’t make eye contact with him for long without blushing. 

“I think this is the turn,” Rick muttered under his breath, following a long line of slow-moving vehicles as they turned into the driveway of a multi-million-dollar house. 

“Who lives here? The Queen of England?” Daryl asked, looking up at the strings of lights that lined the drive and led to the party. 

“Mmm, not quite,” Michonne offered. “A girl in my sociology class is the daughter of an executive at some record label. She’s the one that invited me.”

“Guess daddy must be out of town this week,” Daryl muttered.

“No, I think this is _her_ house. Daddy’s house is probably twice this size,” Michonne continued. 

“Jesus,” Daryl murmured, as Rick pulled the car up behind another parked car and turned off the ignition. 

“Must be nice to have connections,” Rick teased, bumping Michonne’s arm with his elbow.

“Connections? I let the girl borrow a pen. She said, and I quote, ‘bring your friends. Tell them Cherry sent you.”

“Cherry?” Carol asked with a laugh. 

“You know these rich people and their weird-ass kid names,” Michonne shrugged. They piled out of the car and stepped up onto the sidewalk where two burly, bodyguard-looking guys stood at the walkway leading to the beach. Carol glanced at Michonne who walked up with confidence and offered a smile. “We’re here for Cherry’s party.” They stepped out of the way and let them through, and Carol glanced at Daryl who was still in awe of the house they were walking past. 

“You ever been inside one of these?” he asked her quietly as they trudged down the walkway. 

“Yeah, my ex took me to a party at some beach house in Santa Monica once. I got turned around on the fourth floor and it took me ten minutes to find the stairs again.”

“Fuck, their garage is three times the size of my house,” Daryl whispered. Carol grinned and ducked her head to miss a low-hanging string of lights. Just as the sidewalk faded into pebbly sand, they made a turn to start down a slope. The orange glow of a giant bonfire faintly lit the path until they made it down onto the soft, fine sand below. There were at least a hundred people on the beach either gathered around the fire, playing beer pong on a table set up close by or splashing around in the water. 

Several couples had put out blankets and were shamelessly making out like they were the only people in the universe.

“God, look at that,” Carol choked out. She noticed one couple getting a little too into it, and for a moment, she wondered if they were actually fucking. “That’s embarrassing. Do they realize there’s about a hundred people here watching them?”

“They’re probably too drunk to care,” Michonne laughed, bringing her own blanket out from under her arm. She got _the look_ from Rick and winked at Carol. “You’ll be ok for a bit?” Carol’s eyes went wide. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you never went to a make-out party in high school.” At Carol’s look of annoyance at her lapse in memory, Michonne winced. “Right. Sorry. Look, there’s plenty to do. I’ll catch up with you in a little bit. ‘Kay?” Carol could see that Michonne was _really_ looking forward to sucking face with Rick in public, so what choice did she have but to leave them to their fun? 

“Have fun and be careful,” Carol said softly. 

“You, too,” Michonne winked. Carol glanced briefly at Daryl before glaring at Michonne.

“Stop,” she whispered. Michonne gave her hand a squeeze and let Rick tug her away to find a place to put their blanket down. 

“Well,” Daryl murmured, running his hand over the back of his neck before biting the side of his thumb. “Looks like we been ditched.”

“Yeah, some friends we have, huh?” Carol chuckled. 

“Sorry ‘bout them.”

“Oh, it’s ok. I’d rather not sit around while they grope each other. I hear enough of that through the _very_ thin walls of my bedroom, thank you very much.” 

“Ouch,” Daryl grimaced. “That sucks.”

“Well, let’s just say I have three backup pair of earbuds. I always keep them handy.” Daryl shifted anxiously beside her and cleared his throat.

“You want something to drink? A beer?”

“Um, no thanks. Maybe a water, if they have any. You having one?”

“Nah,” he said with a little shrug. “Water’s fine by me.” He walked over to the big coolers and reached into the ice to feel around for a couple of bottles of water. There was mostly beer and clear, fruit-flavored malt beverages, but eventually, he came up lucky. He returned with the dripping, ice-cold bottles and handed one to her. 

“Thanks.” She started off away from the heat of the fire and toward the water. She took a sip of water and caught him staring at her. She let out a little laugh and capped her bottle. “I’m not a prude, you know.”

“What?”

“That. Back there.” She gestured over her shoulder. “I’m no prude. I just…I was raised…” She huffed out a breath and stopped for a moment. “My dad’s a preacher.” Daryl’s eyes went wide, and he blew out a sharp breath.

“Oh. Shit,” Daryl chuckled. “Yeah, makes sense now.”

“What? You think I’m a prude?” Carol asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Nah. I don’t think so. Ain’t nothin’ wrong about not wantin’ to do…what they’re all doin’ back there.” 

“It’s not that I don’t want to.” She blushed fiercely and looked out toward the water. “I mean, I have done that. I just don’t particularly like an audience.”

“Yeah. Me neither,” he grinned. Just then, a rather large, drunk frat boy knocked right into Carol as he tried to catch a football in the dark, sending her down into the sand.

“Hey, asshole!” Daryl barked. “Watch where you’re goin’!” 

“Dude,” the man slurred, “I’m so sorry. You ok, babe?” Carol recognized the frat boy as one of the tight ends on Ed’s team. “Oh, hey. I know you.”

“I’m fine,” Carol bit out through clenched teeth. Daryl was already at her side.

“Yo, Chris! Chris, over here!” Another drunk frat boy called, and the incident was completely forgotten. He went stumbling off as Daryl helped Carol to her feet. 

“You ok?”

“I’m fine,” she huffed out, brushing the sand off of her jeans as she straightened. “Asshole.”

“You know that guy?” Daryl asked, as Carol took off her shoes and dumped the sand out of them. Instead of putting them back on, she held them in one hand and started over to walk in the damp sand where the tide washed in and lapped at her ankles.

“Not really, no. He’s on the football team with my ex.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“No, it’s ok. We broke up months ago. This is just the first time I’ve gone out since then, and of course I had to run into somebody to remind me of why I’ve stayed in all this time. Literally run into.” She scowled, and Daryl brushed some sand off of her arm. “Thanks.” 

“So, you’re, what, a sophomore?” he asked. Carol glanced at him with a little smile, appreciative of his attempt to change the subject.

“Yeah. Second year of hopefully four.”

“What’re you goin’ to school for?”

“It took me a while to settle on a major,” she confessed. “But, I settled on creative and business writing. I like to write. I have for a long while. I always kept a journal at home. It was kind of my escape. It was the only place I could really vent my frustrations about things growing up. I was the preacher’s daughter, so I was pretty much expected by be, well, a preacher’s daughter.”

“Well, what about that movie with the guy that dances?”

“ _Footloose?_ ” Carol laughed.

“Yeah. That chick was a preacher’s daughter.”

“Yeah. Well, I don’t think we’ll end the night dancing in a barn while glitter and confetti comes down from the ceiling.”

“Hey, the night’s young. Ya never know,” he smiled. Carol laughed then and took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air and relishing the good company. She realized the sounds of the party had already begun to become mere background noise the further they walked, but she didn’t feel like going back just yet. “Preacher’s daughter, huh?”

“Yeah. But I knew a long time ago that I wanted to get out there and experience life. I want to write about it. Maybe inspire someone. Maybe that sounds silly.”

“No it don’t.”

“No?”

“Not at all,” he said quietly. “I get it. You grow up in one place, livin’ life the way somebody else wants ya to live it, you just can’t wait to get out and do somethin’ just for you.” Carol smiled then.

“Yeah. Yeah, that’s it. Does it sound selfish?”

“Nah. It’s your life. You gotta live it your way, not theirs.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Michonne says you’re taking classes?”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Don’t wanna be stuck workin’ with my brother for the rest of my life. See, my mom died when I was just a kid. My daddy couldn’t handle the stress of raisin’ two kids, so he took off. His brother raised me and Merle. When he died, he left us both the garage, and Merle seems pretty content with it. Don’t get me wrong, I like fixin’ up cars and all that, but I wanna do somethin’ else. Been workin’ on cars since I was old enough to hold a flashlight for my uncle, you know? So I’m studyin’ architecture. I wanna design houses, stuff like that.”

“Daryl, that’s great. I’ve never met an architect before.”

“Well, you still ain’t. Got a lot of schoolin’ left, and I ain’t decided if it’s really right for me yet.”

“Well, you can always change majors. You’re in your second year?”

“Yeah,” he said with a little nod. “Wasn’t even plannin’ on school ‘til I found out my uncle set up a college fund for me. Didn’t leave one for Merle. Merle didn’t even graduate high school, so I guess he figured he wasn’t gonna waste his time tryin’ to convince him to go to college.”

“I’m sorry about your parents. Do you ever hear from your dad?”

“Nah,” Daryl muttered, kicking a shell with the toe of his shoe. “Ain’t really sure where he is. He kinda lost it when my mom died, but that’s alright. Me and my dad never got along anyhow. My uncle was always more like a dad to me, anyway. It worked out the way it was supposed to, I guess. Me and Merle did pretty good with him.” Carol nodded then, and she suddenly felt a little guilty for thinking up excuses for why she couldn’t come home on Thanksgiving. As strict and over protective as her parents were, they _did_ love her. No parents were perfect, and she was thankful she still had both of hers. “You like it out here?” Carol looked up at his next question. She couldn’t barely make out his face in the dim light.

“Yeah. It takes some getting used to. It’s definitely not Michigan.”

“Definitely ain’t Georgia, either. Never strayed too far from Senoia. That’s where I’m from. Sometimes I’d go into Atlanta for the weekend, but I never went much further’n that, ‘cept those couple times my Uncle took me up to Michigan. Hell, I never even been on an airplane ‘til I came out here to visit Rick.” Thunder rolled in the distance, and Carol looked up in surprise. “Shit. Maybe we oughta get back.”

“Mmm. It won’t rain for long if it even does,” Carol said with a little shrug. “I really don’t want to go back yet.” 

“Alright.” They kept walking. Up ahead, they could just make out the outline of a lifeguard’s shack. Carol knew they’d wandered off of the private property and into a public area. Still, there wasn’t a soul around save for a few beach combers looking for shells. _Tourists_ , she figured. The best stuff was always on the beach in the mornings. 

“You live with your brother?”

“Oh, hell no,” Daryl chuckled. “We’d kill each other. I stay in the old house, and he stays in an apartment above the shop. That way we only gotta see each other at work. I mean, I love my brother, but he’s eight years older’n me. We ain’t got much in common. I stayed with him ‘til I was of age after my uncle died, and then he left me have the house.”

“That was nice of him. You live alone?” She tried not to sound too nosey, but it seemed less desperate than asking him if he was single.

“Yeah. Just me. Don’t have a girlfriend, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“I wasn’t…” She blushed, and she was thankful for the dark, but her trembling voice gave her away. “Ok, maybe I was.” 

“No, I ain’t got a girlfriend. Ain’t had time to find one, really. My ex broke up with me after graduation.”

“Oh, that sucks,” Carol winced. 

“She was goin’ to New York to school, and she said she didn’t wanna be tied down to anybody back home.”

“I’m sorry,” Carol said quietly.

“Well, hell, it’s better’n findin’ out two months later through a text message or somethin’. At least she did it in person. Still wish she’d have told me she was gonna break up with me _before_ I fixed up her old car and made it like new. It was her graduation present.”

“God, that’s awful,” Carol groaned. 

“I’m over it, though my brother keeps tryin’ to get me to go out and meet somebody. Shit, I’m busy with work at school. By the time I get home, all I wanna do is take a shower and go to bed.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Carol exclaimed. “Michonne keeps nudging me and nudging me, trying to get me to go out and have fun, and I just want to stay home where it’s quiet where I can think and study.”

“Yeah,” Daryl agreed. “Though I’m glad she convinced ya to come tonight.”

“Me too,” Carol smiled. She giggled when a bit of seaweed washed up and wrapped around her ankle. She stopped and kicked off the muck, and she looked to Daryl.

“When do you have to leave?”

“Flight’s tomorrow afternoon. Rick’s drivin’ me to the airport.”

“Oh,” Carol said quietly. “Well, did he take you sightseeing?”

“He took me to Hollywood yesterday. Always thought it’d be all fancy or somethin’. Mostly just dirty sidewalks and weirdos dressed like superheroes harassing you to take pictures with ‘em for money.”

“Oh, so you went to the Walk of Fame.” Daryl laughed, and Carol grinned. “Yeah, I went there, too. I was more interested in going to see all the big houses from some of my favorite movies. The houses from _Halloween_ are so close to Hollywood it’s not even funny.”

“Damn, he didn’t tell me ‘bout those. That’s my favorite scary movie.”

“Mine, too,” Carol smiled. “Nothing beats the original. Maybe if you come visit again, I can show you around a little more.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Daryl’s hand brushed against hers, and Carol felt a shiver run up her arm. Without warning, lightning struck, and a sudden downpour hit with no warning. Carol gasped, and Daryl ducked his head. “Shit, the car’s too far away.”

“Come on. We can wait in here.” She nodded toward the lifeguard’s shack, and they hurried toward it in the wet sand. Carol was the first there, hurrying up the ramp and praying that the door was unlocked. To her relief, it was, and she stepped inside, nearly tripping over an inflated pool float in the process. 

“You ok?” Daryl asked, squinting into the dark as Carol found a battery-powered lamp in the corner. An unnatural yellow glow filled the shack, and Daryl shut the door behind him. 

“Yeah. I’m good,” she chuckled, shivering as the water on her skin cooled her off.

“You cold?”

“I’m ok,” she said with a little shrug. “So, are you crashing at our place tonight?”

“Huh?”

“Rick always stays over with Michonne on a Friday night. It’s kind of their thing.”

“Oh,” Daryl said slowly. “Oh, we didn’t talk about it.”

“You…you can crash. It’s okay. I wouldn’t mind the company. We can listen to loud music and pretend they’re not doing what they’re doing in the other room.” She glanced up to meet his gaze, only to find the little crooked smile on his lips fading as his eyes darkened. She shivered, not from the cold this time, and she bit her bottom lip. She couldn’t deny the way her heart was racing, and while it’d been a while since she’d paid attention to a guy long enough to know if he was checking her out, she was pretty sure he was blushing, too. 

Thunder rumbled overhead, and the rain poured harder on the rooftop of the lifeguard’s shack. Carol ducked her head a little, and through the dusty window, she watched a streak of lightning rip through the sky.

“It’ll stop any minute, I’m sure,” Carol said quietly. 

“Well, we’re dry in here, at least,” Daryl offered. Carol smiled at him, and she cleared her throat. She looked around the room, at the dull yellow lamplight, at the ridiculous unicorn floatie in the corner and the stormy conditions that had led them to this shack. She let out a little laugh, and the crooked grin on his face spread.

“What?”

“Nothing. Sorry, it’s nothing.”

“What? Tell me.” Carol’s amused smile faded into something softer. 

“Oh, I was just thinking about the beach and the storm and how we’re two stranger stuck in a small space waiting out a storm, and it sounds like something from just about every romantic comedy in the last decade.” She laughed again, and he snorted.

“Like somethin’ outta a damn romance novel.”

“Right,” she laughed. A little snort escaped her, and that made Daryl’s grin widen, and she laughed harder, covering her face with her hands. “I think they spiked that water.”

“Nah. But I like your laugh.” He took a step toward her. Carol’s laughter dissipated, and she sighed softly. 

“So you’re really leaving tomorrow?”

“I’m really leaving tomorrow,” Daryl said with a little nod. 

“Too bad. I’m having a good time.”

“Me too,” he admitted. “Ain’t had this much fun in a long time. Don’t tell Rick. He gets jealous.” Carol laughed at that, and Daryl stuffed his hands in his pockets. 

“Storm doesn’t seem to be letting up,” Carol said quietly. “That’s so strange. It doesn’t usually rain this long around here.” 

“Almost seems like we’re s’posed to stay here a while, don’t it?”

“Oh, you believe in fate, do you?”

“Never really thought about it much,” he shrugged. Carol smiled then, and she let out a slow breath. She hadn’t felt this way in a long time. That tingling, giddy feeling that made her stomach clench and her pulse pound. The way everything she was taught growing up was running through her brain. Her mother’s words, something along the lines of giving milk away and buying cows. _Fuck_ she hated that. 

“It kind of sucks. What are the odds that Michonne convinced me to come out tonight, on your last night?”

“Well, I dunno about odds. But m’glad you’re here.” Carol smiled then. “I figure we woulda met eventually with you bein’ Michonne’s friend and me bein’ Rick’s.”

“Yeah,” Carol agreed with a nod. She sighed softly. She wasn’t sure why she was feeling so bold. She’d never felt this way so quickly toward someone before.

Hell, she was feeling things she’d never even felt when she was with Ed. The way Daryl’s gaze pierced hers, the way he licked his lips nervously and brought his hand up to run through his hair, the way his chest heaved just a little with a stuttered breath. Her head felt swimmy, and something was stirring deep in her belly. She could chalk up the way her nipples hardened against her shirt to the rain dampening her skin, but she couldn’t explain the pulsing in her core or how she was wet just thinking about the way he was looking at her.

She took a step toward him. The air felt charged, electric. 

“You ever kiss a girl in a lifeguard’s shack?”

“Can’t say I ever have,” he grinned. God, something about that little half smile, half-smirk was driving her crazy.

Well,” Carol said slowly, taking another step toward him. “Do you want to?” She watched his face flush pink in the dull yellow light. He bobbed his head in a little nod.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Yeah?” she asked, as he took a step toward her. His hand reached out to brush against hers, and she curled her fingers around his. They both stood there a moment, both feeling that giddy rush like going down that first big drop on a rollercoaster. He smelled so good, like smoke and cologne, and she closed her eyes when his lips brushed hers. 

His lips were slightly chapped from the sea air and the sun, but they were surprisingly soft, and when he pulled her closer and slipped his arm around her waist, she gasped softly and opened up to him. Her hands came up his shoulders and gently caressed the sides and back of his neck as his tongue slipped past her lips and against her tongue. She was certain her heart might beat straight out of her chest. 

The more they kissed, the more their hands wandered, and when he took a step forward, backing her up against the wall, she giggled against his lips. He chuckled then, pulling back from the kiss to brush this thumb along her lower lip. Even in the muted light, she could see he was blushing.

“Ever fool around with somebody in a lifeguard’s shack?” he asked, his voice hoarse as he took in a shaky breath.

“Can’t say I ever have,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip and slipping her hand up his shirt to touch him.

“Well?” he asked, kissing her again. “Do you want to?” She laughed softly against his mouth as he pulled his arms around her again. She could feel his hands trembling now, giving away his own nerves. Knowing he was just as anxious and just as willing put her more at ease. 

“C’mere,” she whispered before taking his hand and pulling him down onto the floor with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_December 13, 2020_

“How’s school going, honey?” Ellie Mason asked on the other line. 

“School’s ok, Mom,” Carol said tiredly. “I finished up my last paper. I still have a week of classes and finals, but I’m almost done.”

“How are your grades?”

“Fine. My English grades are better than math, but that’s always been the case.”

“You get that from me, I suppose,” Ellie laughed. 

“Yeah. Daddy was the math whiz. If it wasn’t for him, I probably never would’ve passed algebra.” Carol sighed and twirled a dark auburn curl around her finger. “What’s Daddy up to?”

“Oh, it’s Sunday night,” Ellie chuckled. “He’s reviewing his sermon from this morning and making notes for next week. You know him.”

“Yeah,” Carol said softly. She leaned back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. 

“Honey? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m…I’m fine.”

“You sure? You sound…I don’t know…sad.”

“I’m ok,” Carol said quietly. “Still not feeling great. Working and going to school on top of the flu is taking it out of me. Oh, I did submit a story to another journal. I’m a little nervous about that.”

“Well, honey, I’m sure whatever you wrote it great, not that you’d ever let your father or me read _anything_ you write.”

“Well, I promise, if I _ever_ get published, you’ll be welcome to the first copy.”

“Well, that makes me feel better,” Ellie laughed. “Though I do wonder what you write about.”

“I write about life, Mom. Some of it’s fact, some of it’s fiction.”

“Well, you’ll warn me if there’s something that’ll break your father’s heart, won’t you?”

“Mom,” Carol sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as her ear began to sweat against the hot cell phone.

“Oh, I’m not going to argue. I just don’t know where we went wrong. We raised you in the church. We thought you liked it. Maybe we pushed you too much.”

“Mom, just because that’s what you wanted for me doesn’t mean that’s what I want,” Carol said softly. “There’s nothing _wrong_ with me for wanting to get out think for myself.”

“Well, I didn’t mean…”

“Mom, you can take a little girl to church every week for years, and she’s still going to grow up and experience the world and become her own person with her own beliefs and thoughts.” She could hear her mother’s frustrated sigh on the other line and felt too exhausted to fan the flames of another argument. “I’m doing ok, Mom. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Oh, let’s not talk about it anymore,” Ellie sighed. “Are you coming home for Christmas? We missed you at Thanksgiving.”

“I wasn’t feeling great at Thanksgiving. I’m sorry, Mom. I wanted to be there.”

“Well, your father and I love you very much, and we miss you. We just want to see for ourselves that you’re doing alright.”

“I am,” Carol promised. “I’ll be there for Christmas. I promise.” Carol wasn’t quite sure why, but her throat clenched, and tears pricked at her eyes.

“Honey, you really do sound sad,” Ellie murmured.

“I’m ok, Mom,” Carol promised. “Tell Daddy I love him, ok? I’ll see you in less than two weeks.”

“Alright. Be safe. And make sure you’re getting enough sleep and eating right.”

“I will,” Carol chuckled as the tears stung her eyes. “Give Daddy a kiss for me, ok?”

“Alright. Good night, honey.”

“Good night, Mom.” Carol ended the call and put her phone beside her pillow. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to bite back the urge to cry. Her parents drove her crazy, but she loved them and missed them, and she supposed the fact that her mother could tell something was wrong just by hearing her daughter’s voice should give her some comfort. Her mother really did care, but confiding in her about _why_ she was so blue wasn’t an option. 

She could hear it now.

_“Yeah, Mom, I met this really great guy, and we had one amazing, romantic night together before he flew back home, and I’ve spent the last month and a half wishing he was here so we could do it all over again.”_

She could never.

The truth was, that night had left her with some of her fondest memories. She thought about it often, and when she thought about it, she’d smile. She’d never experienced something so passionate. Hungry kisses and desperate fingers fumbling with buttons and clasps. He was shy and sweet and inexperienced, but all she’d ever known was Ed, and even with Daryl’s determined fumbling, he was still a better lover than Ed had ever been. What he lacked in experienced, he made up for in willingness to learn. He was an observant one, Daryl Dixon, and it didn’t take him long to find out how she liked to be touched.

Still, a sandy old lifeguard’s shack made things even more awkward. They’d dressed afterward and made nervous small talk as they made their way back down the rain-soaked beach toward the bonfire party. They’d barely said two words to each other on the car ride home. Still, when they got back to the apartment and Carol turned in for the night, she caught a look from him that filled her with hope and longing. And he’d come to her nearly an hour later. They spent an incredible night together, and then to save any uncomfortable encounters with Michonne and Rick in the morning, he escaped back to the living room before anyone could suspect a thing.

They’d all had breakfast together, and before Rick drove him off to the airport, Carol managed to get a brief moment alone with him to get his phone number. She wasn’t sure she’d ever see him again, but she definitely wanted to keep in touch with him, even if it was just to be friends. She’d enjoyed their time together, and for the first time in months, she’d had a great time. He had no idea what he’d done for her. It went well beyond just lust and sex. He made her feel desirable, yes, but he also sparked something in her, because she cooped herself up in her room for hours after he left and wrote like crazy. She felt such a passionate, creative surge that she hadn’t felt in so long. 

But, that fire had dimmed, and for the past few weeks, she’d found it exhausting to even sit and try to write anything worth reading. She stuck to her school work, and if she had time, she really did try. But the energy wasn’t there. The passion was gone. The characters in her unfinished pieces might as well have been figures in a still-life painting. She felt completely uninspired. 

She missed Daryl. She couldn’t even talk to anybody about it, because nobody knew. She was certain Daryl never said a word to Rick, because if he had, Rick would have said something to Michonne, and then she wouldn’t have heard the end of it. And she liked having the memory of that special night all to herself. It made it more special somehow.

Still, they had barely communicated since that night. They’d friended each other on social media, talked on the phone a couple of times and even texted. But it was awkward. What the hell was she supposed to say to the guy who’d rocked her world and flown back home to Georgia the next day? Anything at that point would have just felt desperate. 

But, who was she kidding? She missed him like crazy. Did he miss her? There was only one way to find out. 

She bit her bottom lip and pulled up their running text conversation. The last time he’d texted her had been at Thanksgiving, and neither of them had had much to say. She wondered if he was even still interested in her. Again, that was something she’d only find out if she asked. 

Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she took the plunge and sent a quick text.

_Hey. You busy?_

She groaned and rolled her eyes at herself, but she was pleasantly surprised when he texted her right back. 

_Hey. Not busy, no._

Carol looked at the clock, and she cringed. It was _late_ in Georgia, and here she was probably waking him up out of a dead sleep.

_Did I wake you up?_

_Nah. Couldn’t sleep. Was actually about to text you._

She wondered if he really _was_ thinking of texting her or if he just said that to make her feel better. 

_Oh?_

_Yeah. Been busy with school and work, and I know you have too. You doing ok?_

_I’m ok. Coming down with the flu, I think._

_That sucks. I’m sorry._

_No, it’s ok. I just hope it’s over before next week. I’m going to visit my parents for Christmas. You have any plans?_

_Not really. Got a couple invites to a couple places, but I think I’m just gonna stay home. Enjoy the quiet._

_That sounds nice._

_Maybe, but it’s kinda boring when it’s what you’re used to._

_Oh. Well, I’d gladly switch places with you. You can visit my parents, and I can enjoy a quiet week alone._

Carol took a deep breath, and she closed her eyes. Her phone buzzed in her hand with his reply.

_Wouldn’t mind to get away from home for a bit._

_I thought about stopping in Atlanta to say hi before I come home. I’ll have a few extra days before classes start back, so I figured it might be good timing. If you want the company, that is…_

_You don’t have to do that._

Carol’s heart sank, and she sat up in bed. 

_Oh. No big deal, it was just an idea._

_I wasn’t trying to brush you off. I’d love to see you. I kinda feel like an asshole. I should’ve called more or something._

_Me, too. I guess I didn’t know what to say._

_Me neither._

_Long distance relationships don’t usually work out anyway._

_It’s not that. I just...it drives me crazy not seeing you. I think about you all the time, and if you came by and left again, I think it’d just make things harder._

_Yeah. I know what you mean. You really think about me?_

_More than you’d know._

_I might have some idea. I think about that night a lot._

_Me too. It’s damn near distracting at work. Can’t tell you how many times Merle’s caught me daydreaming._

_You’re so cute. I wish you lived closer. Or I lived closer._

_Me too. I was planning to come out for Spring Break. Rick’s been on me about coming back. I could always come and not tell him, and then we could take off for a few days._

_Now that’s an idea. Though I’m pretty sure if we got caught, Rick would tell Michonne, and I’d never hear the end of it._

_You didn’t tell her?_

_You didn’t tell him._

_Just didn’t think it was any of his business. Besides, I like keeping some things to myself._

_Me too. And I thought with you being in Georgia and me in California, telling people would just make it awkward._

Carol chewed her bottom lip for a moment, and when Daryl’s next question arrived, her heart skipped a beat.

_You been seeing anybody?_

_No. Nobody. You?_

_Nope. Hey, forget what I said before. I really do wanna see you. If you have time to stop in Atlanta, will you?_

_Yeah, I’d like that. I’ll text you soon, ok? Try to get some sleep._

_Alright. You, too. Good night._

_Night._

Carol put her phone aside and sat up in her bed, and just as she did so, a wave of nausea hit her hard. Her stomach clenched, she gagged, and moments later her feet were pounding the floor down to the shared bathroom at the end of the hall.

She fell to her knees and threw up just as she reached the toilet bowl. Tears stung her eyes, and she coughed and spat into the bowl until the taste was gone from her mouth. She groaned loudly, shut the led and stood shakily to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

Michonne came running in just as Carol reached for the bottle of mouthwash. Clenched in one hand was a can of disinfectant spray.

“Are you ok?” she asked apprehensively, holding the bottle out in front of her like a crucifix. A garbled noise came from the back of Carol’s throat, and she nodded her head. “You _really_ need to get into the doctor.”

“It’s just the flu,” Carol offered with a wave of her hand.

“I’ve never had a flu last as long as this,” Michonne said with a quirked eyebrow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were pregnant.” She offered a teasing grin in Carol’s direction, but the look that fell across Carol’s face was anything but amused. Her eyes widened, and Michonne crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“You…you broke up with Ed months ago. You couldn’t be, right?” Michonne asked slowly. Carol leaned her elbows on her knees and hung her head in her hands. 

“Oh God,” she choked out.

“Carol?” Michonne asked. “I was just joking. You couldn’t be pregnant. Right?” Michonne’s eyes widened. “Right?”


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Three bottles of water and four pregnancy tests later, Carol sat on the floor of the bathroom feeling equal parts dizzy and terrified. She’d read the back of the box six times over the past couple of hours. One line meant she had the flu and needed to rest in bed for a few days. Two lines meant that her entire world was turning upside down and that her whole future was a giant question mark. And of course, with her luck, all four plastic sticks showed two bright pink lines, mocking her for her choices. 

“Carol? Carol!” Michonne came rushing down the hall with a fresh bottle of water in her hand and a brown paper bag. “I got two more tests.”

“Michonne…”

“Those are old, anyway. I bought those like a year ago when Rick and I had that scare. They’re probably no good, anyway.”

“Four false positives?” Carol asked, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand. 

“Just take these. They’re better. Those are the ones I picked up at the dollar store in a hurry.”

“I don’t think it matters how much you pay for a pregnancy test. I got four positives, Michonne. I’m pregnant.” She let out something between a sob and a squeak and blew her nose into a wad of tissues she’d been clenching since that last test turned positive.

Michonne placed the brown paper bag down on the sink, closed the toilet seat lid and sat down on it. 

“Okay, can I ask a question?”

“Yeah, go ahead. Why not?” Carol asked with an exasperated sigh. 

“Who? I mean, you haven’t gone out. I don’t remember you bringing a guy back here. Unless you were _really_ sneaky, I don’t have any idea who—”

“It was Daryl,” Carol blurted out, rubbing her hands over her face, wiping away the last of her tears. 

“Daryl?” Michonne asked. “How…”

“Really?” Carol asked. “I know you were too wrapped up with Rick to notice Daryl and I slipped away for a couple of hours, but…”

“Whoa. Wait. What?”

“I’m sorry. That was a really bitchy thing to say,” Carol huffed out, sniffling.

“No, it wasn’t. We kind of ditched you that night, and I’m sorry. I’m even more sorry now. God, I have _no_ idea. Like, not even an inkling. You guys were quiet on the way home, but I just figured you were tired. And… _oh_ God, he stayed over. That must’ve been really awkward.”

“Not really. He snuck into my room after you and Rick turned in for the night.”

“Oh. Really?” Michonne’s brows were furrowed, and Carol could tell she was desperately wracking her brain to dredge up some sort of clue that something had happened that night.

“We were _really_ sneaky,” Carol said quietly.

“Wow. So, is that why you’ve turned down the last couple guys that asked you out?”

“Well, sort of. I mean, we’re not dating or anything, but I don’t know. I like him. It’s pretty much impossible, because he lives like, two time-zones away, but I was thinking of seeing him over Christmas break.”

“Holy shit,” Michonne breathed. “Does Rick know?”

“No. We didn’t tell anyone. We kept it to ourselves.”

“That’s actually really sweet. What are you going to do? Are you gonna tell him?”

“What do I say? Oh, hey, instead of visiting you for Christmas, why don’t you move out here and help me raise the baby we made the night we met?”

“Well, yeah,” Michonne offered with a shrug. “Maybe not in those exact words, but something like it.” Carol’s shoulders slumped, and she ran her fingers through her hair. “What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know. I…I don’t know.” She sniffled. 

“Well, what do you want?” Michonne asked softly. 

“I don’t know what I want. I want to go back in time and _not_ fuck a stranger in a lifeguard’s shack.” She winced when the words fell from her lips.

“Well, aside from going back in time and un-fucking Daryl Dixon, what do you want?”

“I lied,” she groaned. “It was the best night of my life. I just wish we’d been more careful.”

“You didn’t use condoms?”

“We used condoms,” Carol muttered. “I wish _I’d_ been more careful. My mind hadn’t been on taking my birth control so religiously after everything with Ed.” She grabbed the compact of pills off the sink and tossed them into the trash. “I guess I don’t need these anymore.” The second the pack of pills clattered to the bottom of the waste bin, Carol let out a choked sob, and Michonne came to put her arm around her friend’s shoulders. 

“Well, I’m here for you, whatever you decide to do. If you need someone to drive you somewhere and drive you home and sit with you while you cry, I can do that. If you need somebody to help you pick out a nice couple with a dog and a cat and a tank full of fish, I can do that. If you need someone to help you change diapers at two in the morning, I can do that, too.” Carol let out something between a sob and a laugh, and Michonne squeezed her hand. “Hey. You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister. You’re not doing this alone. Whatever you decide to do, I’m with you, ok?”

“Thanks, Mich,” Carol sniffled. 

“First things first, you need to get in to see the doctor.”

“I know,” Carol sighed. “I’m just dreading it. I have to tell Daryl. And my parents. God, they’re going to be so…”

“Hey,” Michonne encouraged, “this isn’t about them. This is about you. At some point they have to realize that _you_ aren’t them. They can’t expect you to do everything the way they did it.”

“This isn’t like going out and getting a tattoo or getting something pierced, Michonne. This is a _baby_. I’m having a _baby_.” Saying it made it feel so real. Her stomach lurched again. “Oh, God.” She came up to her knees, swatted at Michonne’s leg, and when Michonne hopped up from the stood, Carol lifted the lid and threw up again. Michonne gently rubbed her back and took a deep breath. Carol coughed and spat again before flushing the toilet, and when she closed the lid again, she looked up at Michonne with tear-filled eyes. “What am I gonna do?”

“The first thing you’re gonna do is make an appointment. The most important thing is making sure _you’re_ healthy. We can worry about the rest later, right?”

“Right,” Carol sniffled. “Ok. Ok, I can do that.”

“Here.” Michonne handed Carol some tissues. “Wipe your face and stand up. Come on. You’re gonna sit on this floor all day.” Carol let out a little laugh, blew her nose, wiped her face and picked up the four positive pregnancy tests. She tossed them in the bin and stood up straight. “See? All you have to do is take it one step at a time. Our next step? Ice cream and a feel-good movie in the living room.” Carol grinned at that and blinked back tears. “See? We’ve got this, right?”

“Yeah,” Carol choked out, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. “We’ve got this.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

Carol finished zipping up her jeans and got to work lacing her shoes back up. The paper sheet over the exam table crinkled when she hopped back up, and she ran one of the ties to the neatly folded exam gown through her fingers. The doctor had stepped out long enough to let her get dressed and confirm what Carol already knew. So when she knocked on the door again and stepped inside, she offered Carol a kind smile, one that probably would have put her at ease under different circumstances.

“How are we doing?” the young woman asked. She was young and fresh-faced, and Carol had honestly questioned if she was even old enough to be a doctor when she’d first seen her. But Dr. Cloyd was very professional, and she had a great bedside manner. Carol was thankful she hadn’t ended up with some asshole doctor who was already jaded from all the shit he’d seen in a long, eventful career. 

“Ok,” Carol said quietly. She was far from OK, but Dr. Cloyd didn’t have time to hear her life story, so she figured OK was sufficient.

“Well, you _are_ pregnant,” she said quietly. “And you you’re certain you conceived on…”

“October 30th. Or 31st. That’s when the, uh, the sex happened.” Carol cleared her throat, and Dr. Cloyd said down and typed something on the computer.

“So conception may not have occurred on those dates. A first ultrasound will help determine the embryo’s age. It’s been just over six weeks.” Dr. Cloyd typed a few things into the computer, and she chewed the cap of her ink pen as she thought. “And you say your last period was…oh, wait, I’ve got that here already.” She cleared her throat. “To be on the safe side, I’m estimating you’re about five weeks pregnant, if you’re certain of the time frame.”

“I’m sure,” Carol said quietly. “It was then. Just then. Just with…just then.” She fidgeted on the table, and Dr. Cloyed offered her another kind smile.

“Do you have a support system at home? I know you’re taking classes and working at the college, and you said you’re from Michigan.”

“Right. My parents are back in Michigan. I have a roommate. She’s my best friend.” She swallowed hard. 

“And is the father in the picture?”

“Not exactly. He doesn’t know yet. He doesn’t live around here either.” She looked at Dr. Cloyd who nodded.

“Hey, trust me. I might not have a _lot_ of experience as a doctor yet, but in the time I’ve been practicing, I’ve pretty much heard it all. Your situation isn’t as uncommon as you probably think it is.” 

“My situation,” Carol huffed out. “Dr. Cloyd, my dad’s a preacher. I barely know the guy that got me pregnant, and I’m about to go home for Christmas.” 

“Right,” Dr. Cloyd said slowly. “Again, not the first time I’ve had a patient with super conservative parents. Trust me. My parents hauled me and my twin brother to church every Sunday. I didn’t wear jeans until medical school. My mom wanted me to marry my high school sweetheart, have babies and teach Sunday school. Surprise, Mom and Dad. I’m a lesbian, and I have no interest in being a mom _ever_. So, I know a little something about dealing with disappointed parents.”

“Let me guess. You’re gonna give me the _it’s your life, not theirs_ speech.”

“No, that’s something you’ll probably hear for months to come. Years even,” she snorted. “I’m going to tell you exactly what I told my parents. You’re the same person they loved before you were born. You’re the same person they brought home from the hospital and raised. If they can’t accept who you are, who you’re becoming, then they failed as parents.” Dr. Cloyd shrugged. “Now comes the _it’s your life, not theirs_ speech. It _is_ your life. If they can’t accept that you’re not them, that you have your own dreams and ambitions, then maybe they need to take a look at their own lives and see where _they_ went wrong.” She winced a little. “Did I sound a little bitter there?”

“Maybe a little,” Carol offered with a little chuckle. She felt a little relieved. Dr. Cloyd was easy to talk to, and the fact that she grew up in somewhat similar circumstances made Carol feel that maybe she wasn’t all alone. She’d certainly felt all alone on that bathroom floor with those four positive pregnancy tests. Michonne was a good friend, and she could say she was there all she wanted, but it didn’t change the fact that Carol was going to be the one to face her parents. Not Michonne. Just Carol. And she had to do it all alone. For the first time in her life, she was _really_ afraid to look her parents in the eye. She wasn’t ashamed of herself, but she knew if her parents turned her away, she’d really be alone, and then what would she do? Who would she have? Her whole world was one giant question mark, and it was the most terrifying feeling of all.

“I’ve got some pamphlets I can send home with you,” Dr. Cloyd offered. “Have you thought about your options? If you can’t have this baby, there are safe places to…”

“I don’t know,” Carol cut her off. She took a deep breath. “Sorry. I haven’t even gotten used to the idea of being pregnant.”

“That’s understandable. I want to see you next week for an ultrasound. We’ll get a better picture of where things are with the pregnancy, and then we can talk options.”

“Honestly?” Carol said quietly. “I keep telling myself I can’t have a baby. I can’t be pregnant. But it’s happening. And I’ve always thought that when it came down to it, I could make a choice. But now that it’s happening, I don’t…I don’t know.” She shook her head.

“It’s normal to be conflicted. Whatever the case is, it’s _your_ life. It’s your decision. And as your doctor, I’m here to help you.”

“Thanks,” Carol said quietly. Dr. Cloyd nodded and handed Carol a sample bottle of prenatal vitamins. It rattled in Carol’s hand, and all she could think about was how ever since those four tests turned positive, all she could think about was how impossible it all felt. Still, at the back of her mind was an image of a baby with Daryl’s eyes and her mouth. And she couldn’t shake it. She didn’t know how to be someone’s mother. She barely knew how to be someone’s daughter anymore. She had a lot to think about, but when she swallowed down that first prenatal vitamin, she was certain she’d made her choice. Now she just had to figure out how to make her life work around it.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

December 19, 2020

Carol’s heart raced a mile a minute as she pulled into the travel center off the Interstate ten miles away from the Atlanta airport. She was kicking herself for not driving herself anywhere in Los Angeles. She always took an Uber, a cab or rode with Michonne. The crazy traffic in Los Angeles was worse than Atlanta by a mile, but actually driving in it had had Carol shaking. When she turned off her ignition she glanced at the GPS. She’d done a quick search for any garages in the area under the name of Dixon and came up with _Dixon_ s’ _Repair and Services._ She’d thought about texting him, but then she’d have had to dodge questions about what she was doing there already. 

She hurried inside to use the bathroom, buy another bottle of water and pre-pay for her gas, and by the time she finished pumping and was back in the driver’s seat, she felt a whole other sort of anxiety wash over her.

She was about to see Daryl for the first time and tell him she was pregnant.

Six days ago, her world turned upside down. Two days ago, she had her first ultrasound, and Dr. Cloyd told her she was due at the end of July, the 28th at the latest, she’d estimated. It still didn’t quite feel real, and she figured part of that might have been the reason she was sitting in her car in Georgia with her GPS set for that garage. Maybe telling him would make it feel more real. Whatever the case, ever since that day on the bathroom floor, she couldn’t stop thinking about what this meant for her, for him, for the future. Would he want this? What if he didn’t want kids? Hell, she knew nothing about him except for the fact that he was good in bed, was raised by his uncle and had been to Michigan a couple times in his life. What if he wanted nothing to do with her or the kid? 

Something told her that wasn’t going to be the case. For as little as she did know about him, the short time they’d spent together had told her enough to know that he was sweet and shy and caring. Still, she’d thought she’d known Ed. When he’d cheated on her, everything she thought she knew went out the window.

She took a few shaky breaths and re-programmed her GPS to keep her off of the busy roads. Soon, she was coasting down a much slower-paced city street, her pulse pounding in her ears as she went over what she was going to say over and over again in her head.

_Hey, Daryl. What’s that? Oh, yeah, I’m a few days earlier than we talked about. But, listen, the reason I’m here is because you knocked me up that night on the beach. Oh, I’m keeping the baby, and you can be as involved as you want. What am I gonna do? Oh, you know, I’m going to keep working and going to school and hope that I don’t fall behind once the baby’s born. Yeah, yeah, I know babies are really expensive, and I’ll probably be a terrible mother, and the kid’ll end up in therapy, because what the hell do I know about raising babies? I was an only child, and I haven’t even changed a fucking diaper. And, I can’t expect any help from my parents, because I’m their unwed teenaged daughter who got knocked up because she went to a bonfire and couldn’t control her raging hormones. So, how have you been? School good?_

She’d worked herself up into the onset of an anxiety attack, and by the time she pulled into the parking lot of the garage, she had to take a few calming breaths before she had a full-blown freak out. She gripped the steering wheel, closed her eyes and worked up the courage to get out of the car. But, before she could do anything, somebody knocked on the glass, startling her. She blinked up at the smirking face and rolled the window down.

“Well, well. Did you have an appointment?” he asked, a slow, southern drawl oozing from his lips like hot butter. The way he looked at her made her tense. 

“No. No, I don’t.”

“Well, no matter. I’d be happy to service you, sweetheart.” He licked his lips and winked at her. Her face flushed, and she rolled her window up a little.

“I must have the wrong place,” she said quietly.

“Well, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You lost, sweetheart?” he asked, wiping his dirty hands on an oily rag. 

“I’m looking for a friend,” she said quietly. “I must have the wrong place.”

“If you’re lookin’ for a friend, you came to the right place,” he grinned. “I’m about to close up shop in about an hour. Maybe we can go have a little fun.” Carol glared at him.

“No thanks.” Carol cleared her throat. 

“Damn, just my luck. The pretty ones never wanna have fun with ‘ole Merle.” Carol froze in her seat and narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Merle Dixon?”

“I guess my reputation precedes me.” He put his hand over his heart and took a clumsy bow. “If you’re lookin’ for Merle, then you come to the right place. I’m right here, darlin’.”

“I’m looking for Daryl.”

“Daryl? What’s a pretty thing like you want with my dumbass baby brother?”

“I’m a friend. We met in L.A. Is he around?”

“L.A. Hell, you must be the reason he had a big, dumb grin on his face for a week after he got back.” Carol blushed, and she looked up at Merle.

“Is he here, or not?”

“Nah, he took the day off. Finished up his classes yesterday, so he’s probably at home with his nose in a book. Somethin’ ain’t wired right in that’n, see? I keep tellin’ him he needs to get out there and find himself a good woman, but it looks like maybe he did. Sneaky little sumbitch.” He winked at her, and Carol bit back the strong urge to roll her eyes. “If you’re so hell bent on findin’ my baby brother, why don’t ya just give him a call?”

“I want to surprise him,” she said cooly, desperately trying to hide the nervous shake in her voice. 

“Well, he’ll be pleased as punch to see you, I’m sure. Was startin’ to think my baby brother was gonna die a virgin.” He slapped the roof of the car, and Carol jumped.

“Are you gonna tell me where he lives or not?”

“Yeah. Take this here road down about three miles ‘til you find Cherokee Street. You make a left there, take it all the way down ‘til ya reach the dead end. Make a right and take it another three miles. It’s a little white house with a motorcycle parked under a car port.

“Great,” Carol said quietly. 

“You want me to give ya a lift? Might be easier that way.”

“No, thanks. I’d like to surprise him alone, if you don’t mind.”

“I get your drift. If I could make a suggestion, there’s a little drugstore on the corner if ya need to pick up some rubbers on the way out.” He winked at her and clicked his tongue, and Carol scrunched up her nose. “Show the boy a good time. He don’t get out much.”

“He gets out more than you know,” Carol offered with a little smirk. Merle laughed and took a step back, stuffing his hands into his pockets as a cold wind chilled the air.

“I like you. Fulla fire, you are.”

“Thanks for the directions, Merle,” Carol said with a wave, putting the car into reverse. Merle stepped out of the way, and when Carol took off in the direction he’d told her, he just shook his head and ran his greasy palm over his face with a smirk. His baby brother done good.

*~*~*~*~*

“Fuckin’ thing,” Daryl muttered under his breath, tapping his finger hard against the thermostat. He turned it up again and finally heard the heat kick on. He shivered and rubbed his hands together before grabbing a blanket from the hall closet. He draped it over his shoulders and headed back into the living room to get back to the show he was watching. 

He’d just finished cleaning the place up, and save for the freshly delivered pizza box on his coffee table, the place didn’t look too damned bad. 

Ever since Carol had texted him that night, he couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of her coming to visit. He really had been thinking about her constantly, but he’d been too anxious to text her much after he’d come back home, because the last thing he wanted was to come off as too needy. All of his life, he’d watched his brother and uncle treat women like objects, and while Merle had what seemed to be a rotating door out of his place half the time with different women every night, Daryl rarely ever saw the same woman twice. He didn’t want that. He liked Carol. _Really_ liked her. The last thing he wanted was to say the wrong thing, and they had had that one perfect night together. What if that had been all they were supposed to have?

Still, he hadn’t wanted her to think he was a complete dick, so he’d stayed in contact here and there, and so had she, but he hadn’t quite known what she wanted or if she wanted more. After all, he was in Georgia, she was in California. How could it work? 

A girl he’d gone to school with lived just down the road, and she’d been trying her hardest to get his attention that year. In fact, since he got back from Los Angeles, he felt like he had an almost heightened awareness of when a woman was flirting with him. At first, he’d thought it was in his head. But one day this girl, Sherry Combs, had pointed out that he seemed more confident. He carried himself different since he got back from L.A. If any of that was true, it was all because of Carol. Being with her had been one of the most intense, amazing experiences he’d ever had. Of course, his experience was quite limited, but he had been eager to please her. And whatever he’d done, she seemed to love it, especially when they were in her bed and his face was between her thighs. She made him feel things he’d never felt before. 

And Sherry seemed to have a sense about him, because since he’d come back, she’d been stopping by every chance she could with the flimsiest excuses. 

_“Daryl, there’s a big, nasty spider in my house. Oh, would you please come kill it?”_

_“Would you be a doll and help me reach something in my cupboard?”_

_“I need your opinion. Is this dress too short? I don’t want to look cheap. Or maybe I do? Oh, I’m just teasing, you honey.”_

She had really tried. But, Daryl only had one thing on his mind and that was figuring out a way to see Carol again. Even if it hurt in the long run, because these things surely couldn’t work out, it would be worth it just to see and holder her again. He craved her. He carried a part of her with him, and he was certain he’d never feel so strongly about another woman in his life.

Needless to say, when she’d offered to come out, he’d felt like a complete asshole when he said she didn’t have to do that. He wanted it more than anything. Wanted _her_ more than anything. But she was on the other side of the country. How could they make it work? He had school to finish. So did she. He supposed he could look into transferring schools, but then what? They’d just shack up together? He’d move in with her and her roommate? And say things didn’t turn out? Then he’d be a fish out of water with nobody but Rick, and Rick was pretty much a package deal with Michonne anymore. 

So then what? Ask her to pack up her entire life once again and move to Georgia to live in this crummy house while he worked in a garage and went to school? And what about her? What kind of writing opportunities would she have out there? They were near the big city, yes, but in Los Angeles, he was certain she’d have a better chance of making a name for herself. There were more businesses, more publishers, more everything.

Who was he kidding? A guy like him never got the happy ending with a girl like her. They had that one perfect night together, and maybe that was all it was supposed to be. Still, he couldn’t help but hold out hope she’d stop by. The fact that he was still absolutely beside himself that someone as beautiful and amazing as Carol had wanted him like that could probably sustain him until the day he died. It still wouldn’t stop him from hoping he’d see her again.

He slumped down on the couch and reached for a piece of warm pizza. Just as he was about to take a bite, a gentle knock at his door stopped him cold. He glanced up at the clock. Who the hell would be visiting him at this time of day? It sure as hell wasn’t Merle. Merle usually barged in if the door was locked or pounded on the door until Daryl answered. His heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he wondered if maybe it was her. But the second he opened the front door, the hope in his eyes faded, and he offered a polite smile to Sherry who stood there with a cigarette in one hand.

“Hey, Sherry,” he said quietly. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I just wanted to check in on you. School going ok?”

“School’s done for a couple weeks,” he muttered.

“Your finals go ok?”

“Yeah, they were fine.”

“Good,” she beamed. “I brought something. Thought we could celebrate.” She pulled a bottle of champagne out from behind her with a proud grin. Daryl cleared his throat, made that polite smile a little tighter and cocked his head to the side.

“How the hell you get your hands on that? I know you ain’t old enough to buy, and neither am I.”

“My daddy runs the liquor store, silly. I can have whatever I want.” She grinned at him and stepped into the house without an invite. Her long, brown hair swished in his face as she turned her head and walked past him.

“Sherry—”

“Do you have any champagne glasses?” Daryl stared at the back of her head as she made her way into the kitchen. He knew all she was going to find in there were some cheap glasses and plastic cups. The only alcohol his uncle ever kept in the house had been beer and hard liquor. Wine and champagne had never had a place in the Dixon household. 

She returned to the living room with two clear glasses filled halfway with the sparkling drink. She handed him one.

“To another semester down,” she said with a wink. 

“Sherry, I don’t wanna be rude, but I got plans.”

“Plans?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. She peeked over at the coffee table where the fresh pizza sat. “Looks like you were about to do pizza and a movie. Would you like some company?” She took a sip of the champagne, and Daryl cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. He had to think fast. _Fuck_.

“I, uh, kinda have someone coming over later.”

“Like a date?”

“Uh, yeah. A date.” _Yeah, like she’ll really believe that._ She narrowed her eyes at him. _Of course she don’t fuckin’ buy it_.

Suddenly, as if some higher power had shown mercy on him, the gravel in the drive way popped under a set of tires. He was sure it was probably Merle or somebody turning around because they went the wrong way, but at least it distracted Sherry enough that Daryl could step toward the door and hold it open for her.

“What a shame,” she sighed, putting the cups down on a nearby table. “Maybe some other time.” Daryl’s face reddened as Sherry let her gaze drag up and down a couple of times. She was getting bolder with her flirting, and frankly, he wasn’t at all interested. She was pretty, sure, but there wasn’t a spark there. For as many times as they’d run into each other or she’d stopped by, he never felt any bit of attraction toward her. And while he wasn’t even in a relationship with anyone, the idea of even entertaining an offer from Sherry felt wrong. 

Sherry sighed and took a few steps out, peeking around the side of the house to see who was getting out of the car. Daryl couldn’t see anything from where he stood in the doorway, but to his surprise, Sherry’s shoulders slumped. She pouted her lips and looked at him. 

“She’s pretty, Daryl. I didn’t realize you were having company.” As his guest came walking into view to step onto the sidewalk, Daryl’s palms began to sweat, and his stomach did that first drop on a rollercoaster thing again.

Carol stopped and stared at Daryl and then at Sherry for a moment before turning her attention back to Daryl.

“Is this a bad time?” she asked quietly, tucking her keys into her jacket pocket. 

“No, I was just leaving,” Sherry said glumly. Then, she turned to Daryl and not-so-discreetly said her goodbye. “Call me if you want to get together later. We’ll have that drink.” She winked at him and then turned to leave, giving Carol a once over before scoffing and stalking off to her car. 

“I should have called,” Carol said quietly. Daryl blinked and shook his head, pulling himself out of his state of shock.

“No! No, come in. I wasn’t expectin’ ya so early.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Carol said with a little half-smile. Daryl glanced off toward Sherry who was making her way home, and he choked out a cough. 

“No. No, that wasn’t what it…I mean, she lives down the road, and…”

“Daryl, relax. It’s none of my business.” Daryl held the door open for her.

“Come in. Um, I’ve got pizza. Was just sittin’ down to have a slice when she showed up.” He rubbed the back of his neck as she walked by, and _Christ_ if she didn’t smell amazing. There was a citrusy, sweet tang to whatever she wore, and it made him hungry to taste her skin and find out if she tasted like he remembered. 

Carol stepped into the front room, and Daryl rubbed the back of his neck again.

“Really. It wasn’t what…I mean, she’s not…we ain’t…” 

“Daryl,” Carol smiled. “I believe you.” 

“You do? I just didn’t want ya to think that…I mean…I know we ain’t…and I just didn’t want ya to…”

“I’m not here about us. Well, I guess…I guess I am,” she stammered. “I need to tell you something, and I’m just gonna do it, because if I don’t do it now, I’m going to chicken out.” Daryl blinked in surprise. Here he’d thought he was a bumbling, nervous mess, but she was quickly gaining on him in that department.

“You ok, Carol?”

“Well, it depends on how you define ok.” She cleared her throat, and Daryl shut the door. He motioned for Carol to have a seat on the couch. She did so, and he offered her a piece of pizza. She shook her head, and he was sure he saw her swallow hard, like she was trying to keep from throwing up.

Daryl sat down next to her, watching the way she rubbed her hands on the sides of her jeans. She took a couple of deep breaths, and he wondered why she looked so anxious. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that she was sitting in his living room. His mind couldn’t even begin to consider the reasons _why_ she’d come. Surely she hadn’t come all the way across the country _before_ Christmas to tell him that she wasn’t interested in pursuing whatever might be between them. She genuinely looked like she had no idea how to say the words she was trying to get out.

“Do you…do you want a drink or somethin’? Sherry left a bottle of champagne.” Carol let out a nervous laugh, and she shook her head.

“No. No, that’s probably not a good idea.” She cleared her throat. “Daryl, I really was planning to stop by _after_ Christmas, but this past week sort of…threw me for a loop.” She took a shaking breath. “I really like you.”

“I like you, too,” Daryl said quietly. “Kinda crazy about you, really.”

“You barely know me,” Carol blushed. 

“You barely know me, but ya like me,” Daryl pointed out with that little half smile that drove her crazy. She bit her bottom lip and looked away, trying not to let her hormones get the best of her. She had to focus. She had to say what he needed to say, and then the rest of it would work out however the hell it was supposed to.

“You’re in Georgia.”

“And you’re in California.”

“We’re both in school. We both work.”

“Plane tickets are expensive.” Daryl wasn’t quite sure where the conversation was going, but pointing out all of the problems that stood in the way of them making a go of a relationship definitely wasn’t the direction he’d hoped for. 

“I want to be a writer.”

“I want to be an architect.” Daryl cleared his throat. “We just gonna state random facts, or are we talkin’ about what happened between us?”

“I think it’s important to get the facts out there first.”

“I got another one then,” Daryl said with a nod.

“Ok. Go ahead.” Carol sat up straight, and Dary’s blue eyes bore into hers.

“That night in L.A. was the best night of my life.”

“Daryl…”

“No, I mean it. Somethin’ happened that night, and it wasn’t…it wasn’t just sex.”

“You’re not wrong,” Carol said quietly. Daryl looked at her, watched her fidget in her seat, and he reached out, his hand surprisingly steady despite his jangled nerves. 

“I wanna know you,” Daryl said quietly. “I wanna know everything. Don’t care if we’re two thousand miles apart. Don’t care if we’re on different planets. I just think there’s somethin’ here, and I think you feel that, too. If ya didn’t, ya wouldn’t be here.” Carol blushed, and her eyes filled with tears. “Shit. Don’t cry.”

“No. No, I’m not,” she sniffled. “Shit. Sorry.” She wiped at her eyes. “You’re so sweet.” Daryl reached for a tissue from the box beside the remote control and handed it to her. “Thanks.”

“M’sorry. I can change the subject.”

“No. No. I have to say this before…before we say anything else.” She sighed heavily. She took another shaky breath and wiped at her eyes again. She cleared her throat, sat up and looked Daryl right in the eye. “I _do_ like you. I want to get to know you better. I don’t know how we’re going to manage that, but we will.”

“’Course we will.”

“But I need you to know that when I tell you what I have to tell you, you can be as involved as you want. I’m not going to make you give up your whole life here because of…of one night on the beach.” Daryl stared at her for a moment.

“You ain’t makin’ sense.”

“Daryl, I’m pregnant,” she blurted out. “I’m pregnant. You’re the father. And I…I have _no_ idea what the hell I’m gonna do.”


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Daryl was pretty sure this was the longest, most uncomfortable silence he’d ever experienced. Words were on the tip of his tongue, rattling behind his teeth, but he just couldn’t get them to come out. Carol was sitting there staring at him, the worry and anxiety pooling in her beautiful baby blues with each second that he just couldn’t get his fucking brain to work.

“Daryl, I just didn’t want to tell you over the phone. I didn’t want it to come from a text message. I needed to tell you, and I want you to know that I know your life is here. I know your brother’s here, your job’s here, your school, your home. I want you to know that I don’t expect anything. I just…” Daryl flinched at her last statement, and he sat up a little.

“Don’t expect anything? What kinda guy do you think I am?”

“I…” Carol swallowed hard. “I don’t really _know_ what kind of guy you are. There’s only so much you can learn from a night of sex and a few text conversations.” Carol shrugged one shoulder. “I do like you, and I think you’re a good guy, but I’m sure the last thing you were expecting was to have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy. I know it’s the last thing _I_ was expecting. And it’s _awful_ timing.” She ran her fingers through her hair, and Daryl cleared his throat.

“Jesus, Carol. I don’t know what to…I don’t…” He rubbed the back of his neck so hard it left a red splotch from the irritation. “You’re really pregnant?”

“Well, it’s not April Fool’s,” she deadpanned. “I wouldn’t joke about something like this. I took four home pregnancy tests before I even went to the doctor. I’m freaking the fuck out, to be honest. And I still have to tell my parents.”

“You’re…you’re keeping…you’re keeping the baby?” Carol looked at him, staring hard for a moment before she nodded.

“Yeah. I’m keeping it.” She let out a soft gasp at the sound of those words. “I’m keeping it. And, like I said, I don’t exp—”

“Ya said that already.” He cracked his knuckles and then pressed the heels of his hands against his eye sockets. 

“Daryl, I didn’t come here to put all this pressure on you. I wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you.” She wrung her hands together and watched as he nodded, slowly processing everything. He lowered his hands into his lap and looked at her again.

“I’m glad ya told me. And I don’t know what kinda guys you’re used to, but there’s no way in hell I ain’t gonna help take care of my own kid. We got, what, nine months to figure it out?”

“A little less. I’m due toward the end of July,” she said quietly.

“Baby’s due in the summer. That’ll work out,” he said with a nod. “I can be there, or…or you can be here. No, that’s stupid. Why would ya come all the way across the country to have a baby? I’ll come to you, and…” Daryl swallowed hard. He hadn’t quite processed the fact that he was going to be a father. Little bits of information were slowly taking root in his mind, and all he knew was that there was absolutely no way in hell he was going to give up his responsibilities like his own father had. He wanted to be there. If that meant working more to make more money, taking more classes to get more credits faster, he’d do it. He was going to make sure he was involved in his kid’s life. One way or the other, he wasn’t going down in history as just another deadbeat Dixon in a long line of deadbeat Dixons. He had no idea how to be somebody’s dad, but he was willing to learn. 

“Daryl,” Carol said quietly, “we can’t raise a baby together living in different time zones. No kid deserves that.” She cleared her throat. “When the baby comes, I’m going to find a place of my own. I know Michonne won’t mind me staying with her, but I’m the one having a kid. She shouldn’t be up all night listening to a baby cry when she’s got school the next day. It isn’t fair.” Daryl stared at her for a minute.

“I could move out there.”

“What?” Carol asked, eyes going wide. “What about the garage? School? Your brother?”

“Merle can take care of himself. I can sell him my half of the business, and I can apply to finish school out there.”

“Daryl, you…you have to think about this. You know you’d be uprooting your whole life.”

“Well, if anything’s a good reason to do somethin’ like that, I’d say havin’ a baby would be it.” He cleared his throat. 

“We have time to talk about it,” Carol said quietly. “I don’t want you rushing into something without thinking about it and finding out a year from now you…you regret it.” Daryl narrowed his eyes at her. 

“It’s…it’s a baby, not a job. I’m not gonna make you do this alone. I was there just as much as you were that night, alright?” The little half-grin on his face eased her anxieties a little. She sighed softly and let a little smile shine through. “What can I do? You need money? You need…what do you need?”

“I’m ok right now,” she said with a little nod. “I talked to my boss at the library. She’s gonna let me pick up some extra hours. The nice thing is I can work on homework while I’m at work.” Daryl nodded. “Look, Daryl. I didn’t come here to ask you for anything. I just wanted to tell you about the baby. You have the right to know.”

“M'glad you came,” he said quietly. “Gotta admit, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to have kids. Didn’t have much of a role model growin’ up, ya know? But, it’s happening, and I wanna be there. I wanna be a better dad than my own was to me.” Carol’s lower lip trembled, and she nodded. “I have no idea what the hell I’m doin’, but I’m willin’ to learn.” Carol laughed then, and she nodded.

“Me too,” she admitted. “I’m a little scared.” 

“How can I help?”

“I don’t think you can,” she said softly. “I’m going to have to face my parents and tell them the truth. At first I was just going to go and spend the week and tell them after I got home. But if I do that, they’ll think I’m ashamed. I’m not. I’m an adult, it’s my life, and I don’t regret what happened. It’s bad timing, but life’s messy, right?” She cleared her throat. “I’ve got a lot of things to get sorted out, but I will. I figured out how to make it on my own moving all the way across the country last year, didn’t I? I can figure this out, too.” Daryl nodded slowly.

“When do you gotta be at your folks’ place?”

“Uh, Monday,” she admitted. 

“Monday. Alright,” he said with a little nod. “You ain’t in any hurry, are ya?”

“No. Honestly, as soon as the plane touched down, my mind was on getting _here._ I hadn’t planned much else.” 

“Well, you can stay here. If…if you want, ya know.” 

“I’d like that,” she smiled. “If you’re sure.”

“You’re havin’ my baby. I ain’t gonna turn you out. ‘Sides, I want ya here.” Carol blushed. “We got today and tomorrow.”

“Right,” she said slowly. “Did you have something special in mind?”

“Thought maybe we could get to know each other. I figure if I’m gonna have a baby with somebody, I better know a few things about her. Favorite color? Favorite movie?” Carol huffed out a chuckle, and she nodded her head. 

“Probably not a bad idea. _Oh,_ I, uh, met your brother.” Daryl’s face fell.

“Aw, Christ. Did he hit on you?”

“Do women fall for that…that act?”

“More’n you know. And it ain’t an act with Merle. It’s kinda gross, actually,” Daryl snorted. “I swear, I grew up thinkin’ there was somethin’ wrong with me. Merle used to give me shit about it. He brought a different girl home every weekend. My uncle was that way, too. One night, Merle came home drunk, givin’ me hell about how I never brought a woman home. I stood up to him, looked him right in the eye for what was probably the first time in my whole damn life, and I told him that there ain’t nothin’ wrong with me. I just got standards. Difference between him and me is that he don’t wanna settle down. He’s damn near thirty and still wants to act like some big high-school stud.”

“Well, I only talked to your brother for a few minutes, but I can already tell you’re nothing like him.” She ducked her head sheepishly. “Gotta say, that’s a relief.” Daryl let out a little laugh then, and Carol’s smile widened. 

“He ain’t a bad guy. He’s an asshole half the time, but he’s tryin’ to stay on the straight and narrow. Truth is, I always felt a little guilty. When my uncle took us in, Merle was a lot older’n me, and I think my uncle expected him to help out with me. He was busy all the time. Liked to go out, you know? So Merle got stuck watchin’ me a lot. When I was old enough to look after myself, he’d split and stay out all night, comin’ home in the morning sometimes. Got into lots of trouble, but I guess it was his way of showin’ my uncle he wasn’t responsible enough to take care of a kid.” Daryl shrugged. “Merle’s…Merle. Ain’t nobody else I know like him. Probably a good thing, but he’s still my brother.”

“I’m glad you had him, even if he is an asshole. I always wanted a brother.”

“Ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Though he did beat the shit out of a couple kids that wouldn’t leave me alone. He caught some charges on that, but those fuckers didn’t even look sideways at me again. Merle got community service, and I swear to God, he smiled at the little shitheads when he walked into the courtroom. He always had my back. Still does.” He shook his head. “Shit, I just keep goin’ on and on. Sorry.”

“No, don’t be. We’re getting to know each other, right? Besides, I like to hear you talk about your family.”

“Ain’t much to tell. Didn’t have much growin’ up. Just the garage. Kept food in our bellies. Now me and Merle are doin’ pretty good for ourselves. My Uncle built up a reputation over the years, and we’re still gettin’ a lot of his business. We’re doin’ ok for ourselves.” He glanced at her. “I’m gonna do right by you and the baby. I want ya to know that.” Carol smiled and reached over to squeeze his hand.

“I believe you,” she said quietly. Trust wasn’t easy for her at all, but Daryl genuinely seemed to want to be there and to help out as much as he could. She hoped he wouldn’t change his mind. She hoped they could work things out so he could be a more prominent presence in the baby’s life. 

“So,” he said quietly, “you wanna get outta here? Go someplace and get a bite to eat?”

“Are you kidding? You have pizza. I love pizza. I guess the first thing you’re going to learn about me is that I will never turn down a slice of good pizza. As long as it doesn’t have pineapples on it.” She made a face and glanced at him sideways. “Please tell me you don’t do pineapple on pizza, because that might be a deal-breaker.” Daryl snorted and shook his head.

“Hell no. Fruit don’t belong on no damn pizza.”

“Oh, thank God. For a second, I thought we might be in trouble.” They both laughed, easing each other’s anxieties just a little. As they started in on the pizza, they began to talk, and despite a little awkwardness at first, they soon felt that familiar ease they’d felt with each other that night back in Los Angeles. Somehow, this was going to work out. Maybe it wasn’t going to be easy, but somehow, things were going to be ok.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“You live in Michigan, and you never went campin’ in your whole life?” Daryl asked, eyes wide and jaw slightly open as he stared at her from across the couch. Carol was sitting, facing him with her legs tucked under her. They’d finished off the whole pizza nearly two hours ago and hadn’t even realized how late it was getting until Daryl had to get up to turn on a light. It was nearly supper time, but they were having such a good time the hours had flown by.

“Never. My dad’s a preacher. He spent his weekends working on sermons. I was an only child, so I spent most of my weekends playing by myself or with one of the neighbor kids.”

“That sucks,” Daryl groaned. “Every kid should get to go campin’ at least once.”

“So you’ll take our kid camping?” Carol asked with a little smile.

“’Course I will. I’ll teach him everything I know about huntin’ and fishin’. I’ll also teach him about cars.”

“What if it’s a girl?” Carol asked, raising an eyebrow as she took a sip of her water.

“Every girl oughta know how to take care of herself. She also ought to know how to fix a car. Shouldn’t have to depend on no guy to do that.” There was a protective tone to Daryl’s voice that made Carol feel warm and at ease. 

“Would you take me camping?” A little grin pulled at her lips, making Daryl smile.

“I’ll take you camping anytime. We could go right now if you didn’t have to go to Michigan,” Daryl said with a shrug. “Once the baby’s born, we’ll go whenever you want. After the first time, you’ll be beggin’ to do it again.” He blushed at his own words, and Carol let out a little giggle. 

“Now, _that_ , as I recall, is _very_ true.” The red in Daryl’s cheeks brightened. Carol’s own face flushed, and she cleared her throat. She knew how it sounded, and just over a year ago, she would’ve been so embarrassed. Now, she found that while she was still a little shy, she loved getting a rise out of him. Making him blush almost felt like an accomplishment. The quiet, naïve preacher’s daughter had grown up quite a bit since starting college. And she quite liked the way he was looking at her. She distinctly remembered her father warning her about men when she’d moved away. If only he’d warned her about assholes like Ed Peletier. “I was pretty sheltered as a kid.”

“I wasn’t. Hell, I probably learned way too young about a lot of things, but I guess that’s what happens when you gotta grow up fast. My brother was always tryin’ to get me to be like him with girls. But I watched him and my uncle and how they treated women, and I didn’t wanna be like that.” He looked at her. “My ex was the first girl I ever did anything with.”

“The one that broke up with you after high school?” He looked up at her for a moment, a glimmer of surprise in his eyes at the fact that she remembered what he’d told her that night.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I guess I was so worried about _not_ bein’ like my brother that I tried too hard to be a good boyfriend. I dunno. I texted her all the time. Called her. She said it was sweet, but I started gettin’ the idea she didn’t like me always comin’ around. ‘Course, we did a lot of stuff that summer before senior year, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doin’. But she seemed happy, and I wanted her to be happy. Was plannin’ on proposin’ that summer after graduation. Guess I dodged a bullet.”

“I’m sorry, Daryl. You must have really loved her.” 

“I _though_ t I did. ‘Course, I didn’t really have nothin’ to compare it to. Just thought it was what I was supposed to do.”

“What was her name?” Carol asked quietly. Daryl huffed out a sigh and ran his hand over his face.

“Lyla.”

“She was pretty?”

“Yeah. She was. Used to think she was the prettiest girl I ever seen. But, _that_ girl came along later.” 

“Oh?” Carol asked with a little smile. 

“Yeah. Can still see them beautiful blue eyes and the way her nose crinkles up when she smiles,” Daryl said with a blush. Carol blushed deeper as the grin spread across her face and her nose crinkled. “Still the prettiest thing I ever saw.”

“Oh, stop,” she laughed. “You’re just saying that because you knocked me up.” She winked at him to let him know she was teasing. Still, his lip quirked into a smile.

“M’sayin’ that ‘cause it’s the truth,” he insisted. Carol sighed and shook her head. 

“You might not feel that way a year from now. Ten years from now. Everything happened so fast. We weren’t thinking, and now…well, now we’re having a kid together.” Daryl shook his head. Daryl’s gaze dropped for a moment before he looked back up at her. 

“Just ‘cause things happened fast don’t mean this ain’t somethin’ worth holdin’ onto.” He scooted a little closer to her, his foot nudging her knee. 

“You might find someone you really like, and…”

“I ain’t lookin’ for nobody,” Daryl huffed out. Carol sighed and leaned her head back a little.

“Neither was I, but then there you were.” Daryl reached out, tugging on the toe of Carol’s sock. She smiled at the little gesture before he curled his fingers around her ankle. “I _almost_ didn’t meet you. It took a lot of convincing on Michonne’s part. I didn’t date before my ex. I stayed in, I didn’t hang out with friends. My parents were strict and pretty much over-bearing. It didn’t stop me from making out with my prom date before dad picked me up for the night.” Daryl smirked at that. “I thought I was missing out on something, and I was _so_ mad at my parents. Mom kept introducing me to boys from my dad’s church, but then if one of them wanted to ask me out, I wasn’t allowed to go, unless it was a chaperoned dinner and movie at _my_ house. Of course, when I moved out here, they couldn’t do much about it. I met Ed, and I just went a little wild. Ed would take me to parties, and I thought this was what I’d been missing out on, you know? Ed kind of tapped into that sheltered girl and helped her see what she’d been missing. I was crazy about him, you know? And I had this idea in my head of how things would be. I had this rose-colored dream in my head of us graduating college, getting great jobs, getting married and starting a family. Then, I found out he cheated on me.”

“Shit. M’sorry.”

“I tell people I broke up with him. I guess it sounds better than being the girl who got cheated on. Worse than that, he didn’t even try to defend himself. He just said he met her and fell in love. And that was that. I mean, I told him it was over, but it was over for him the second he met her. I guess he just wanted to play it out a little longer. I mean, he came all the way out to Michigan to see me _after_ he met her. He carried on like nothing had happened, and then I came back to L.A. to find him with her.” She shook her head. “I should have known.”

“Known what? That your boyfriend was gonna cheat on ya the first chance he got? Don’t do that to yourself. He’s the asshole.”

“Yeah. And of course it had to be him. He had to be the first.”

“First what?” Daryl asked. Carol looked up at him, one eyebrow raising. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry,” he said quietly.

“I’m better off. I know. I’m just mad at myself for wasting my time with him. I’m mad at myself for letting that breakup mess with me like that. He wasn’t worth it. I see that now.” She smiled a little. “Meeting you was…unexpected. That whole night was unexpected.” She swallowed hard. “With you, I felt something I never felt before, and I didn’t really know what to do with that. And I think part of me thought that after that night, everything would get better.” Daryl gave her ankle a squeeze, and Carol looked down. “I’m pretty embarrassed to admit that I was miserable after that night.” Daryl’s face fell. “I was mad at myself, because I wasn’t planning for you to get to me like that. You were leaving the next day, and it was…”

“A rebound thing?”

“No! Well, sort of. Not like that.” She sighed heavily. “This is coming out wrong. I’m sorry.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I missed you when you left. And I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t want to freak you out. I didn’t know what to do. I felt like I…like I lost something. And in a lot of ways, I felt worse than I did after Ed. I mean…I don’t know. I just—” 

“I missed you, too,” Daryl admitted. “Don’t know how many times I almost walked outta that airport terminal. But, I didn’t wanna freak you out, either. Didn’t want ya to feel crowded. Guess I thought I made that mistake with Lyla. Didn’t wanna fuck things up in case we saw each other again next time I visited.” He shrugged. “But I guess we’re past that now, huh?”

“Maybe a little,” she laughed. “So I’m not crazy?”

“Maybe we both are,” he grinned. Carol’s eyes lit up, and she let out a little laugh. Her nose scrunched up with her laugh, and Daryl leaned forward, gently sliding his hand against her cheek and then back into her curly hair. Carol closed her eyes when he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against her lips. She sighed softly when his fingers slid down her neck and sent a shiver down her spine. The kiss was brief but sweet, and when he pulled back, lips pink from his efforts, Carol took his hand in hers.

“What are we gonna do?” she asked softly.

“C’mere,” he murmured, tugging at her hand. She squealed when he pulled her into his lap. His arms came around her waist, and she straddled his hips with her knees, grinning down at him, trembling and giddy from the rush. She traced her fingertips along his jawline and leaned down to kiss him again. Her hands trailed over his broad shoulders and up his neck, burying into his hair as his hands gripped her hips firmly for dear life. When she pulled back, she quirked an eyebrow and bit her bottom lip. 

“Well,” she breathed, shivering as he started tugging at the hem of her T-shirt. “That was a good start, Daryl. _Now_ what?”

*~*~*~*~*~*

His fingers danced along the curve of her hip, and she smiled sleepily at him and snuggled closer. 

“We’re in trouble,” she whispered. He answered her by kissing her nose and then her forehead. “I don’t know how to do this.”

“Me neither.” He swallowed hard, and Carol gently pushed his hair out of his eyes. “I’m willin’ to learn if you are.” She buried her face against his neck, breathing deeply. His fingers curled into her hair, and she pressed soft kisses to the warm, damp flesh under his chin. “Hey.” She pulled back a little to look at him. “M’crazy about you.” Carol kissed him again, and she giggled when his hand slipped down her lower back and over her ass. 

“Me too,” she whispered against his lips. It was a powerful feeling, being in his arms. She felt safe and happy and like nothing bad could ever touch her. She’d been hurt, and so had he, but somehow when they were together, that stuff seemed so inconsequential. Considering she’d been burying her feelings in the pages of her text books since Ed found someone else and cheated on her, she was surprised at how easily it was to just be with him. He made her feel good. He made her feel wanted. He made her feel like everything happened to get them to this moment. While an unplanned pregnancy was never something she’d counted on, being with him in that moment put her mind at ease. There was no telling what would happen tomorrow or next week or in seven months, but he was offering her the chance to build something with him. And damn it, she wanted it. 

“You still here?” he asked, studying her face as her thoughts drifted. She smiled a little when his hand cupped her cheek.

“I’m here,” she murmured. Daryl kissed her again. She smiled against his lips, and when he pulled back, he chuckled.

“Gotta make the most of the time I got with ya. Ain’t lookin’ forward to watchin’ you leave when you go to Michigan.” Carol’s face paled. 

“God. My parents,” she groaned. Her heart thundered in her chest. “I don’t know how to tell them.” She sat up, tugging the sheet up over her breasts. Daryl sat up next to her, pushing the mop of hair out of his face and watching as the panic set in. He reached for her hand, and she was trembling. 

“Hey, it’s ok. You gotta breathe.” 

“I can’t,” she choked out. “What the fuck am I supposed to say?”

“They’re your parents. You’ve known ‘em all your life. You know how to talk to ‘em.”

“You don’t understand. You don’t know my parents. My dad will… _God_ , I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t disown me.”

“Hey,” Daryl said quietly, squeezing her hand. “Your folks love you. You’re their daughter. If they can’t look past this, that’s on them.” Carol swallowed hard, and she nodded her head. “Hey. We’re gonna be ok. You ain’t alone.” Carol’s gaze met his, and she sighed softly, running her fingertips over his knuckles. “You ain’t alone.” 

“You say that, but…”

“Hey,” Daryl said quietly. “I know we’re just gettin’ to know each other, but I’m gonna show you I mean what I say, alright?” Carol took a deep breath, and Daryl squeezed her hand. “I’d go with you if I could.”

“You would?” she asked with a little laugh.

“’Course I would. We’re both in this, right?” He froze for a second. “I could go with you.”

“Daryl, you don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t, but I should. It’s my baby, too. You shouldn’t have to do it alone.” Carol let out a shaky breath, and Daryl gently chucked her chin. She gave him a teary smile, and he leaned in to kiss her. When he pulled back, she met his gaze again. “Besides, they’re gonna have to meet me sometime, right? Why not now?” Carol sat up a little straighter and looked him right in the eye. 

“Do you even know what you’re saying?” she asked with a nervous little laugh.

“You’re havin’ my baby. We both made a choice that night, and now we’re havin’ a baby. That ain’t all on you. You shouldn’t have to do this alone.” He cleared his throat, and Carol gently put her hand on his knee. “Besides, I wanna be there. I wanna be with _you_. I wanna try to make this work somehow. Maybe it won’t be easy, but I think it’d be worth it. If you want that, too, I mean.” Carol let out a shaking breath and a little chuckle, and the flush in Daryl’s face grew a little deeper. “I know it’s a lot. Hell, it’s probably too much.”

“No,” she sniffled. “I don’t know what to say.” Everything felt like it was moving at warp speed. Every piece of her felt like she’d woken up in some kind of fever dream. She’d had so much self-doubt for so long after Ed. Things had gone so fast so quickly, and she wondered if she wasn’t being impulsive. She was in his bed. She was feeling things she swore she didn’t want to feel again when she’d cried into her pillow over Ed. But the thing was, these feelings were bigger, stronger and more intense than she’d ever experienced in her whole life. Maybe it was hormones. Maybe it was the things he was saying. Maybe it was the fact that everything she’d expected had turned upside down from the moment she’d moved away for school. 

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m pretty sure I said too much,” he chuckled. “Don’t wanna scare you.”

“It’s a little scary,” she admitted. “But it feels good.” A blush filled her cheeks. “How can we make this work? I want to make it work, Daryl.” Daryl’s face lit up, and he pulled Carol back into his arms. 

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him. “We’re having a baby. We want to be together. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to give it a try?” The smile on his lips said everything, and when he pulled her back down against the mattress, everything faded away.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A long shower soothed Carol’s weary muscles. Her hands ghosted over her soapy skin, and she leaned her head back into the stream, shivering a little as she played back the events of the night before in her mind. She’d kept Daryl up until an ungodly hour, apologizing when she realized the reason she didn’t feel so tired was because she wasn’t used to the time difference. It was just a couple of hours, but it made a difference.

Still, Daryl hadn’t minded. In fact, he’d found his second wind about two in the morning, and Carol’s knees still felt weak. The night was almost a blur. She’d shown up not knowing what to expect or how he’d react to the news, and just like their first meeting, everything just sort of fell into place and started making sense. 

She’d shown up pregnant and uncertain of everything, and less than twenty-four hours later, she was in a relationship with him and getting ready to take him to meet her parents. It was dizzying. They hadn’t even had a proper date yet. But what even was dating? Meeting someone, going on several outings with them, getting to know them and find out their strengths and weaknesses before deciding on whether or not to keep them around for a lifetime? She was having a baby with him. It hadn’t been planned, and she certainly hadn’t expected her life to turn out this way, but when she was with him, it felt right. She knew she was still a bit naïve, but she’d grown up a lot in the past year. Daryl Dixon was no Ed Peletier, and that in itself was a blessing.

By the time Carol showered, dried her hair and dressed, she could smell something cooking in the kitchen. Her stomach growled, and she felt a little nauseated, but she hoped that eating something would help. The last thing she wanted to do was spend the day hugging the toilet bowl.

When she ventured down the hall and toward the kitchen, she could hear water running in the sink. She noticed Daryl had set two spots at the table, and two steaming plates containing omelets and bacon were already served. Carol raised an eyebrow and picked up a piece of bacon off the plate. It was crisp and delicious, and she was suddenly starving. 

The water cut off in the kitchen, and Daryl came out with a glass of orange juice. He stopped in the doorway, and Carol smiled at him. 

“Mornin’,” he said with a little nod. “You sleep ok?”

“No,” she laughed. “But I’m not complaining.” Daryl blushed then, and Carol looked down at the spread on the kitchen table. “You made breakfast?”

“Uh,” he huffed, unable to suppress the nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I tried. I ruined it. So I had breakfast delivered while you were in the shower.” He motioned toward his cell phone. “Didn’t know what you liked, but I figure everybody likes bacon, and ya can really screw up with an omelet. It’s got ham and some veggies. Also got some orange juice. Orange juice is good for the baby, right?” Carol’s face lit up. 

“Yeah,” she smiled. “Thank you.”

“This ok?” he asked, nodding to the food.

“It looks amazing. Thank you.” She bridged the gap between them and kissed him softly. 

“You need anything? I can get somethin’ else if you want.”

“This is perfect,” Carol promised. “I’m starving.” She hurried over to the table and took a seat while Daryl poured some juice for her. As Carol took savored the first bite, Daryl tapped his fingers anxiously on the wooden table top. 

“I done some thinkin’ after you went to sleep,” he admitted. Carol looked up.

“Oh?” 

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Next semester is over in May, plenty of time before the baby’s due. I’m gonna finish up my classes here, and in the meantime, I’m gonna work on transferring out to Woodbury State with you.” Carol’s eyes went wide.

“Daryl, I can’t ask you to give everything up here.” She swallowed hard and blinked back tears. The last thing she wanted was to ruin all of his plans, but the way he was looking at her in that moment told a whole different story. 

“Hear me out,” he insisted. “You already packed up your whole life and moved across the country once. I can’t ask ya to do that again. ‘Sides, there’s a hell of a lot more opportunities out there than there is here. If we’re gonna do this, if we’re gonna raise this baby, we can’t do it long distance. It don’t work that way.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “But, Daryl, your brother’s here. Your garage.”

“I been thinkin’ about that, too. What I said before? I’m gonna do it. Gonna let Merle buy me out of my half of the garage.”

“What?! Daryl…”

“I figure the money I can get from that and from sellin’ this place and my half of the garage will be plenty enough to help find a place out there and get it ready for the baby. Might not be able to afford much at first, but I can get a job, finish school, and by that time we’ll both be workin’, and we can afford somethin’ better. A nice place to raise a family.” Carol’s heart fluttered as she listened to him talk about the future. He wanted her there. He wanted a family with her. It was so much so fast, but the idea of it actually sounded like a comfort compared to the uncertainty she’d been carrying around with her since those tests turned positive.

Still, she was at a loss for words. She didn’t know where she’d be in ten years. Hell, she didn’t know where she’d be in a year. One romantic night on a beach had changed their lives forever, and Daryl had surprised the hell out of her by offering to give up so much just to be closer to her and the baby. She was so overwhelmed, and when she tried to find the words, only a choked cry came out. Daryl’s face fell, and he watched her shoulders shake. 

Suddenly, she was breathing funny, and he realized she was having an anxiety attack. _Fuck._

“Hey. Hey, breathe.” He clamored up from his seat and hurried around to kneel in front of her. “I knew I said too much. M’sorry.”

“No,” she gasped, rubbing at her throat as ten dozen scenarios of the future played out in her head. “No, I’m ok.” Daryl squeezed her hand, and she put her hands on his shoulders and took slow, deep breaths. 

“You just gotta breathe. Hey. Look at me.” She swallowed hard and looked right into his eyes, letting out another breath through her mouth. 

“I’m sorry,” she sniffled, batting at her eyes with the backs of her hands. She let out a frustrated little laugh and shook her head. “I’m a mess.”

“That’s ok. You get to be. You’re havin’ a baby. You’re scared. And the guy that knocked you up is pretty much a stranger, and he’s promisin’ to pull up stakes and move across the country to help you. Am I gettin’ warm?” Carol let out a little laugh.

“I’m really not bothered by the…you know, _you_ part,” she admitted. “Is that weird? I barely know you, but I feel like this is something…special.” She blushed. “Maybe that sounds stupid.”

“It don’t.”

“What if this doesn’t work?”

“If it don’t work, we’ll figure it out as we go along,” he said quietly. “But we gotta try. We owe the kid that much, right?”

“We can’t do the ‘stay together for the sake of the kid’ thing. We’d be miserable.” She sniffled, and Daryl chewed his lip for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. So why don’t we try the stay together for _us_ thing? If we ain’t happy, the kid won’t be happy. So we try it. If you decide you want out, you say it.”

“What?”

“Ten years from now, you decide you made a mistake, you tell me.”

“Daryl…you talk like we’re getting married,” she snorted. She met his gaze and was surprised to find something solemn there. He cleared his throat and shrugged a shoulder.

“Maybe we will.” Carol let out a heavy breath, and Daryl grinned. “I ain’t sayin’ now. Just someday. If you want.” He paused then, as if waiting for her anxiety to flare up again. Surprisingly, she sat very still, tears shimmering in her eyes. “You good?”

“Yeah. Just processing,” she sniffled. “I came here single and pregnant and not sure how you were going to react. Now, we’re dating, and we’re talking about marriage.” Daryl winced.

“Yeah. Too much. I know. Shit, that’s my problem. Too much too fast.”

“No,” Carol sniffled. “You’re honest. You’re up front. That’s something I’ve never gotten before. You want those things. A marriage. A family.” Daryl nodded then and swallowed hard. 

“Yeah, I do. Only question is, is that what you want?” She stopped for a moment, thinking back to all those times her mother had encouraged her to talk to the boys at church, telling her that maybe one day one of them would marry her. She’d always felt knots twist in her belly at the idea of it. Maybe it was because her parents had always told her that marriage was for life. Sometimes it wouldn’t be easy, but you worked at it, because that made it worth having. It sounded like a job. Like a contract. But when Daryl held her hand and looked into her eyes, the knots were twisting for different reasons. Maybe it was his enthusiasm rubbing off on her, but the idea of being together and raising a baby together didn’t sound like some binding contract. It sounded like Sunday morning breakfasts, coffee and pajamas, date night with a picnic in the back yard, romantic nights in after the kids go to bed. It sounded…nice. Again, maybe it was the hormones talking, but she _wanted_ those things, and she could so easily picture those things with him.

“I think so,” she whispered softly. “I think I’m just afraid of what comes next.”

“Today? Tomorrow? Ten years from now?”

“All of it, I guess,” she admitted with a little half-shrug. “We’re so _young_.” She chewed her lower lip when Daryl took her hand in his. “God, I sound like my father, who, by the way, was _eighteen_ when he married my mother.” She huffed out a sigh. “But he knew what he wanted with his life. She did, too. He wanted to be a preacher. She wanted to be a preacher’s wife and a mom.”

“You wanna be a writer.”

“More than that, I want to travel. I want to experience life and write about it. It’ll be hard to do with a baby.” She swallowed hard.

“So we’ll raise our baby on the road.”

“What?” she laughed.

“I heard about this family that sails around the world with their two small kids. Kids never been to real school a day in their life. They learn by doin’. We could do that. Buy an old RV, fix up a crib. I could drive, and you could write, and we could just go wherever you want.”

“That takes money,” she laughed. “It’s a nice dream. Maybe someday.” She sighed, her heart fluttering when she looked at him. He was trying so hard to make her happy and to show her he’d do whatever it took to make their family work. 

“Someday,” he agreed. Carol met his gaze, and she saw such sweetness there. He was looking at her like he could see the future in her eyes. Hell, she was carrying his child. She was still reeling from the great fortune she had in that the stranger who knocked her up turned out to be a pretty upstanding guy willing to give up everything just to take care of their baby. “What do you wanna do today?”

“What?” she asked, a little smile quirking at the corner of her mouth.

“Anything you wanna do today, name it. Early flight tomorrow, so I don’t wanna wear you out.” Carol blushed. She couldn’t help it.

“What if I want you to wear me out?” she teased. Daryl’s face went red, and the air left his lungs for a second. “I’ll sleep like a baby. Rest up for the trip, you know?” She grinned, and Daryl ran his hand over the back of his neck.

“Then we’ll make it a short day and a long night,” he agreed. “So, whatever you want. Name it.” Carol thought for a moment. When she looked back at him with no words, he chuckled. “C’mon. There’s gotta be somethin’.”

“I don’t know,” she laughed. “What would you do on a typical weekend?”

“Sit here and drink a couple beers. Take a nap, maybe.”

“Well, a nap sounds good, but I don’t want to spend the whole day inside.” She sighed softly. “Take me for a drive.”

“Where you wanna go?”

“Show me…show me around town. I wanna see where you grew up. I wanna know everything before _we_ go to Michigan tomorrow.”

“You sure?” he asked. Carol smiled and nodded her head. 

“Yeah. Like you said…they’re going to meet you sometime. I’d rather it be now than in the delivery room.” Daryl winced, Carol squeezed his hand. 

“Right. Well, first things first. I better buy myself a ticket.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Well, damn, boy. I’d have at least put on a clean shirt if I knew you was bringin’ a girl over,” Merle smirked, wiping his oily hands on the sides of his dirty jeans. He snorted and spat to the side, and Daryl tensed beside Carol.

“Merle, this is Carol.”

“Yeah, we met.” He leveled a smoldering look and a grin at her that made her feel dirty somehow. She glanced at Daryl and wondered how the hell he was even related to Merle at all. “You two finally come up for air?”

“Merle,” Daryl sighed. “I know you got your own plans for Christmas. I just wanted to let ya know I wasn’t gonna be around to keep an eye on the shop. Carol and me, well, we’re goin’ to Michigan for a few days.”

“Michigan?” Merle asked, furrowing his brows at his brother. “What the hell’s in Michigan?”

“My parents,” Carol said quietly. Daryl reached for her hand and gave it a little squeeze. Merle let out an amused guffaw. 

“Pussy must be real good if she got you followin’ her all the way to Michigan to meet ‘ole Mom and Dad.”

“Man, watch your mouth,” Daryl warned as Carol shifted uncomfortable next to him.

“Hell, sweetheart. I’m sorry. Ain’t used to my brother bringin’ pretty things like you around. It’s always him and me and one of my girls. Sometimes forget how to treat a guest.” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “You two wanna come in for a beer?”

“No, we got plans,” Daryl explained. 

“So, you known each other since California, huh? That was, what? ‘Couple months ago?” Merle asked. He looked back and forth between them. “So, my baby brother comes back with a big, dopey grin on his face and then sulks around like a kicked mule, like he’s missin’ something real good. All the sudden, you show up outta the blue, and now you’re goin’ to Michigan together to meet the parents?” Merle ran his hand over his face. “God damn it, Daryl. You knocked her up, didn’t you?” Daryl felt the color drain from his face, and Carol groaned softly beside him. 

“Merle…”

“The hell were you thinkin’? You put a rubber on, didn’t ya? Christ, ya put it on _right_ didn’t ya? It ain’t rocket science, Daryl.” 

“We should go,” Carol said quickly. “Merle, it was, uh, _nice_ seeing you again.” She squeezed Daryl’s hand. Daryl was glaring at Merle, but nothing could hide the flush in his face. Merle’s face broke out in an amused grin, and he clapped his brother on the shoulder.

“Well, that’s good news for ‘ole Merle. That pretty neighbor gal that’s got her sights set on you is gonna be broken-hearted. Enter Merle to give her some good lovin’ to make her forget why she ever wanted to get her claws in you.” Daryl glanced at Carol apologetically before looking back to Merle.

“You’re a fuckin’ pig, Merle. I’ll see ya after Christmas.” He turned and started back to the truck, his fingers laced with Carol’s.

“Well, slow down now. I didn’t mean no offense. But I don’t hear you denyin’ it. You two are havin’ a baby, ain’t ya?” Daryl sighed heavily and gave his brother a brief nod.

“Have a good Christmas, bro. We’ll talk when I get home.” He and Carol started back toward the truck, and when they were inside, Daryl leaned his forehead against the steering wheel for a brief second before straightening and looking to Carol. “M’really sorry about him.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Carol said quietly. “Honestly, I appreciate Merle’s lack of a filter. Trust me. There’s going to be a lot of tongue-biting and passive-aggressive questions and comments around my family’s dinner table. I hope you’re ready for it.”

“You kidding?” Daryl snorted. “He’s been my brother for goin’ on twenty years. Gotta say, it can’t be no worse than my family Christmases.”

“Oh,” Carol laughed. “Trust me. The snow isn’t always whiter on the other side.”

“Bet nobody is gonna write their name in yellow in _your_ front yard.”

“Gross,” Carol laughed.

“Yeah, well, that’s the kinda shit _my_ family would do. Give Merle a few shots of Jack, and he’ll demonstrate.”

“Remind me to never leave our child alone with him,” Carol choked out. Daryl grinned when he pulled out of the lot and out onto the street. He found her hand between them on the bench seat and gave it a squeeze. 

_Author’s Note: Not even sure if this has many readers at this point. If you enjoy it, please let me know. Thanks._


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